Today, the music world mourns the loss of one of its most distinctive voices and influential figures, Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts, who passed away peacefully at his home in Osprey, Florida. At 80 years old, Dickey leaves behind a musical heritage that is both profound and exhilarating. As a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, his contributions transcended the Southern Rock genre, impacting the vast landscape of American music.

The Allman Betts Family Revival's 7th year has proven to be a massive success and has seen multiple sold-out performances including an epic night at The Beacon Theatre in New York City. Earlier this week the tour celebrated Dickey Betts' 80th birthday in Sarasota, complete with a gold-top Les Paul guitar cake. The tour will roll through Spartanburg, SC, Nashville, TN, Mobile, AL, and will wrap up in Austin, TX on December 17.

The Allman Betts Family Revival is thrilled to announce the second round of special guests for the 2023 tour. Newly announced guests include Chuck Leavell (The Allman Brothers, The Rolling Stones) guitar wizard Greg Koch, J.D. Simo, Vaylor Trucks, Melody Trucks, and Frank Hannon (Tesla).

When I was in college in the early 1970s, a musician friend of mine and I went to a Cincinnati nightclub to see a band from Atlanta that wasn’t the Allman Brothers. (In fact, it was at a club where the band had actually played just a couple of years prior. So it wasn’t a new thing for Southern bands to come to the Upper Midwest along the same tour routes.)

When Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, Dickey Betts, Duane Allman, Jaimoe, and Gregg Allman finally coalesced in 1969 as The Allman Brothers Band, after stints in other bands and musical endeavors – some alone, some with each other – the group’s very first informal jam together was the stomping Muddy Waters song, “Trouble No More.” Almost immediately the six musicians knew they were on to something special.

“This is for you, Dad.” Devon Allman said this around 8:30 PM last Saturday night, with his face and first finger pointed up toward the sky. It’s hard to imagine what he, as well as the other two Allman Brothers relatives in The Allman Betts Band, must have felt like getting to perform to a packed crowd in the historic and legendary hall that his dad’s original band championed so many countless times over. 

New West Records just released Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band. Released in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Allman Brothers Band’s debut album, the 10-song set of jazz interpretations of Allman Brothers Band favorites features Marc Broussard and Ruthie Foster on vocals on two songs each. Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band also features Jack Pearson on guitar, who performed as a member of the Allman Brothers Band from 1997 to 1999.

BMG is proud to announce THE DICKEY BETTS BAND release of Ramblin’ Man: Live at The St. George Theatre on July 26, 2019. This new audio and video recording captures THE DICKEY BETTS BAND at a special, intimate performance recorded on July 21, 2018 at the historic St. George Theatre on Staten Island in New York City.

The Brothers and Sisters Reunion, a collaboration of “A-List” musicians that includes former members of the Allman Brothers Band and related offshoots including the Gregg Allman Band, Dickey Betts Band, etc. These individuals were deeply intertwined in creating the sound of this Southern Rock “feel-good” music we all know and love.