Devon Allman was born with a perhaps burdensome last name. He is the son of Gregg Allman. Devon’s parents divorced, and he lived a pretty typical suburban life. But he forged a musical path of his own and did so in Memphis, where he lived when he was in high school. He returns to town to play Newby’s this Thursday night.
“I think I was 16 to 18,” Devon Allman says. “It was cool. That’s where I first started playing out. I remember playing the Omni-New Daisy, Rascal’s, and Stage Stop. Night Moves. It was the early ’90s. I was just cutting my teeth playing in the area.”
Those teeth are now honed and part of a serious outfit of musicians. Allman divides his time between solo work and playing with the Royal Southern Brotherhood, a super group centered around Cyril Neville, Allman, and a fantastic rhythm section: Drummer Yonrico Scott is something else. They are currently in the studio.
“We’re working on the second Royal Southern Brotherhood record,” Allman says. “Jim Gaines is producing and David Zee engineering. David engineered Prince’s Purple Rain.”
Allman is enthused about the Memphis show, which is for his latest solo release, Turquoise.
“Memphis is my favorite American city,” he says. “It’s always been a second home to me. Bar none. I love hanging out in Midtown and making records at Ardent. I’ve made several. I’ve got a bunch of friends there who are like family to me. I can’t wait. The show focuses on my solo record Turquoise, which came out this year. But there’s a little bit of Honeytribe, there’s a little Royal Southern Brotherhood in the set. There’s a bit of my father’s music too. It’s a little of everything.”
Devon Allman plays at Newby’s on Thursday, December 12th.
