ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Kick Off 11-Show New York City Residency At Beacon Theatre

The ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND kicked off their sold-out yearly March residency at New York City’s Beacon Theatre in big style last weekend (Friday, 3/1) and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees have introduced two new songs written by guitarist Warren Haynes into their vast, evolving  repertoire:  “Dusk Till Dawn” and “Spots of Time” (co-written with Phil Lesh).  Special guests joining the ABB so far this March includeSteve Earle, guitarists Dave Grissom and Eric Krasno, Joan Osborne, John Popper, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Asbury Jukes Horns, Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson, Saunders Sermons and Jay Collins (see full set lists below).

In a review of the first Saturday show, David Fricke of Rolling Stone said, “…every active, improvising-rock band in America would kill for a few minutes at the peaks of the Allmans, now in their 44^th year, hit repeatedly over their two sets, as if this was just another day on the night shift…the Allmans emphasized the resurrection in their story and the durability of their songbook.  They roamed wide in the first set, jumping from ‘Every Hungry Woman’ on 1969’s The Allman Brothers Band to a new Warren Haynes song, ‘Dusk Til Dawn’–waltz-time R&B with a straight slow-groove middle–then back to 1990’s Seven Turns for the lurching blues ‘Low Down Dirty Mean’ and closing with the ecstatic gallop of ‘Revival’ from 1970’s Idlewild South(3/4/13).”

The ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND first began performing their annual multi-night engagements at the Beacon in 1989, with few exceptions, and have now performed there 218 times so far.  The Beacon Theatre shows traditionally mark the beginning of a busy year for the group, which consists of GREGG ALLMAN (vocals and keyboards), BUTCH TRUCKS (drums and tympani), JAIMOE (drums), WARREN HAYNES (vocals, lead and slide guitar), DEREK TRUCKS (slide and lead guitar), OTEIL BURBRIDGE (bass) and MARC QUINONES (congas and percussion).

The Beacon Theatre shows are a rite of passage for the group’s fans, who have sold out the venue over 210 times since 1989.  High-caliber guests are often invited to sit in with the group, and highlights have included Eric Clapton, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bruce Hornsby, Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Herring, Widespread Panic, Taj Mahal, Johnny Winter, Boz Scaggs, Grace Potter, the Asbury Jukes Horns, Kid Rock, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Sheryl Crow, Dr. John, Bruce Willis and Bernie Williams, among many others.

Beyond their Beacon shows, the group has been invited by Eric Clapton to perform one night at his annual “Crossroads” benefit show April 12-13 atMadison Square Garden and they’ll headline two nights at the Wanee Festival in Live Oak, FL April 19-20, which the group organizes itself. Wanee launched in 2005 and has featured bands like Widespread Panic, Robert Plant, The Black Keys, Furthur, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Steve Miller, Doobie Brothers, O.A.R., Grace Potter, Galactic, Stephen Stills, Little Feat and more, and this year features Widespread Panic, Bob Weir & RatDog, Gov’t Mule, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Michael Franti & Spearhead and Robert Randolph & The Family Band.  They’ll also headline their own PEACH FESTIVAL in Scranton, PA again this year August 16 & 17, along with bands including the Bob Weir & RatDog, Black Crowes, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Railroad Earth, Galactic, Rusted Root and more.