Allman Brothers 50th-Anniversary Tribute Coming Soon to DVD, CD

On March 10, 2020, surviving and alumni members of the Allman Brothers Band came together to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary.

Given that the coronavirus was beginning to bear down on the country, as well as the world, the timing was dicey at best; live shows were effectively shut down two days later. “It was just starting to dawn on everyone that day that this isn’t something to fuck around with,” guitarist Derek Trucks told IndieLand soon after the show. “But it also felt like one of the last moments for a long time when people would be able to suspend reality and let go.”

For those who were there, those who weren’t, or those who bought a ticket and had second thoughts, the complete concert will soon be widely available. The Brothers/March 10, 2020/Madison Square Garden/New York, NY will be arriving on DVD, CD and Blu-Ray on July 23.

As a preview, the band is out with a version of “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’,” originally on the band’s second album, 1970’s Idlewild South.

Over the course of two sets and about three hours, the newly named Brothers — Trucks, founding drummer Jaimoe, guitarist Warren Hayes, bassist Oteil Burbridge, and percussionist Marc Quinones, along with drummer Duane Trucks, keyboardist Reese Wynans and special guest Chuck Leavell — honored the band’s anniversary by exhuming songs from throughout their career. (The one-time event also served as a tribute to the recent passings of Gregg Allman and drummer Butch Trucks.) With Haynes handling most of the lead vocals, the setlist ranged from early standards like “Midnight Rider,” “It’s Not My Cross to Bear,” and “Revival” through later-period tracks like “Soulshine” and “No One to Run With.” Since guitarist and co-founder Dickey Betts was unable to make the show, Leavell sang Betts’ “Blue Sky.”

Available from Peach Records (in conjunction with Negs.net, the streaming service that broadcast the show live), the performances will be available as four CDs, three DVDs, or two Blu-Rays. The video will also be streamed on Nugs and Amazon Prime’s streaming service, Coda.

For those wanting more vintage Allmans, three shows recorded by the legendary Owsley “Bear” Stanley at New York’s Fillmore East in 1970 will be available as a three-CD set June 18. Bear’s Sonic Journals: Allman Brothers Band Fillmore East February 1970 Deluxe Edition includes, among others songs, the three earliest known live versions of Betts’ “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”