One of live music’s most talent-filled lineups that pays homage to a family songbook that is iconic along with a new catalog of sterling originals; The Allman Betts Band will be going on hiatus. A note on The Allman Betts Band Instagram feed announced they will go on hiatus through Thanksgiving.
“After 3 years of album making, non-stop touring, song writing, globe-trotting, COVID dodging, etc … we are putting The Allman Betts Band on our first hiatus,” the note reads. “We are aiming for a return to the stage at the end of 2022 for the 6th Annual Allman Family Revival concerts, held between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We look forward to the extra time with family and to embark on some new endeavors. We will check in often right here on ABB socials and update you on what each member has going on. The road goes on forever and we can’t wait to see your smiling faces soon! Until the next … – The Allman Betts Band (sic).
The group will perform as the house band for the four upcoming Allman Family Revival concerts, rescheduled for February 11 at the Macon City Auditorium in Macon, GA., Feb. 17 at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix, Feb. 20 at The Fillmore in San Francisco, Feb. 22 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, and Feb. 24 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. They also will perform at the Gasparilla Music Festival on Feb. 27 in Tampa.
A story published last December by Ultimate Classic Rock (UCR) said the band planned to release its third album in the second half 2022, and that the Allman Betts Band planned to take January and February off before touring again in March.
“We’ve been hitting it hard for about three years straight, so we’re gonna have a nice 60-day sabbatical and then we’re gonna reconvene,” Allman told UCR. He also said the band was in the midst of writing material for their third album and planned to record in May.
Just a few days later, the Allman Betts Band postponed the Allman Family Revival tour when members of their touring party contracted Covid-19 after making it through 13 of the 18 scheduled dates. A post on the band’s Instagram page from Devon Allman said the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution.”
The Allman Betts Band, which formed in 2018, consists of Allman and Duane Betts on guitar and vocals, Berry Oakley Jr. on bass – all three the sons of Allman Bros. Band founders Greg Allman, Dickey Betts, and Berry Oakley – John Ginty on the Hammond B3 organ (The Chicks/Robert Randolph), Johnny Stachela on slide guitar, and percussionists R. Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow) and John Lum.
The band’s most recent album, Bless Your Heart, released in August 2020, was recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the same location where their 2019 debut effort, Down to the River, was recorded.
