Allman Betts Band, along with Jackson Stokes
ACL Live, Austin, TX
January 29, 2021
Review and Photography by Stacey Lovett
It was a sweet return home to both stage and seat as the Allman Betts Band kicked off their 2021 tour at ACL Live in Austin, Texas. A music city void of live music this past year, the audience welcomed the familiarity of an in-person show and the band shared the same sentiment on their end, both feeling a deeper appreciation for these times that bring us so closer together.
Jackson Stokes opened the night with an intimate solo set calling in his own feeling of that place that catches the senses into comfort with “Take Me Home” – a song about his native Missouri but one translated into anything that sings a strong loving familiarity to those who take it in. It played a deeper role that night as everyone in the venue relived the sense of what they’d been missing while staying in their own homes for so long. There was also a deeper air of gratitude and perspective for everyone that night, not that the value of live music wasn’t there before, but now the experience – the gift of it – was enriched. Stokes shared his own appreciation for playing in front of a – socially distanced – crowd at this iconic venue as his last Austin gig was in front of three people following a 14-hour drive to the Carousel Lounge, making “moments like these that much more special.” Stokes’ music paints a picture of that Midwest soul with his heart-centered riffs backed by once boyhood neighbor-turned-producer and friend Devon Allman’s musical nurturing. As the crowd gradually warmed up to sharing collective musical moments again he reminded everyone of the line in times of trouble – “It’s alright” – leading the crowd in that chant to the beat and securing that sentiment to our modern-day fears. Allman Betts Band drummer, R. Scott Bryan, joined Stokes onstage alongside their sound technician on bass to end out his set with “Whiskey,” livening it up with one last shot of funk.
The Allman Betts Band took the stage and let everyone know that live music was once again here and here to stay and they brought to the stage just what they joined to do – pay homage to their fathers’ legacy and celebrate the love affair with being a band. This next-generation doesn’t falter in the least of speaking that same language written in the volume of southern rock – a language that is easily recognized not only by the ear but by the soul and one that has formed its own landscape in southern musical history. And although the landscape of live music is a little different right now, especially for fans enjoying an improvisational jam band, Devon Allman and Duane Betts still translated the familiar spirit that is rooted in their names. Fans were gently ushered back to their tables as the music overcame them towards the stage. The mesmerizing musical mantras draw you into their unqueued flow throughout the set – one that was a conversation of covers penned a generation prior and songs born of this time. While the band touched on a few songs from their latest album, Bless Your Heart, they brought a heavy focus to a nostalgia that was refreshingly familiar. As the set progressed the band reclaimed a warmth and energy no longer dormant from the road and expressed their authentic gratitude to be back sharing that. In an otherwise quiet music city, ACL live was alive with what Allman deemed good for the soul and everyone shared the same feeling that it was so good to hear live music again, just as they felt playing it. Bathed in blue light and baptized in reverb the crowd couldn’t contain themselves as they were taken “Down to the River” -their guitars continuing a conversation deeper than words between the verses as they gradually closed out the show. The entire venue was feeling it at that point and despite a limited capacity, the audience made up for it in their enthusiasm which filled the room. Following a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” they continued the mood into an encore featuring “Midnight Rider” and a bid to “get home safe, stay safe, and spread the word that rock and roll and live music is back…and [tonight was] proof it will bring us back.” There wasn’t one bit of questioning to that claim – everyone there felt right back where they are supposed to find that familiar comfort, right back at home with live music.
