Allman Betts Band Welcomes Luther Dickinson, Lilly Hiatt & More At Ryman Auditorium

The Allman Betts Band presided over the fourth annual Allman Family Revival from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Saturday. The concert came in celebration of Gregg Allman’s birthday (December 8) and saw sit-ins from North Mississippi Allstars guitarist Luther Dickinson, singer-songwriter Lilly Hiatt and more.

The Allman Betts Band — guitarists Devon Allman and Duane Betts (sons of ABB founding members Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts), bassist Berry Duane Oakley (son of founding ABB bassit Berry Oakley), guitarist Johnny Stachela, keyboardist John Ginty, percussionist R Scott Bryan and drummer John Lum — kicked things off with a trio of songs, “Airboats & Cocaine,” “King Crawler” and “Southern Rain” from their 2020 album, Bless Your Heart. The band then welcomed blues musician and singer-songwriter Patrick Sweany, as per SetlistFM, for his number “Them Shoes” before getting into ABB material with “Hot ‘Lanta” featuring guitarist J.D. Simo ahead of The Beatles classic “With A Little Help From My Friends” with help from Simo and the group River Kittens. Allman Betts Band then welcomed singer-songwriter Shannon McNally for her song “Mama Help Me.” McNally would stay on for a cover of Jackson Browne’s “These Days” as well.

Next up, Luther Dickinson joined on The Staples Singers “What You Gonna Do?” which also featured Lamar Williams Jr., son of former Allman Brothers Band bassist Lamar Williams. Both musicians stayed on for the Allman Brothers Band classic “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More.” Then, Lilly Hiatt (daughter of singer-songwriter John Hiatt) led the band through her tune “Never Play Guitar” and would stay on for another vintage Allman Brothers number, “Ramblin’ Man,” which kicked off a run of songs from ABB including “Dreams” and “Blue Sky,” the latter of which saw the return of Dickinson. Wet Willie’s Jimmie Hall emerged from a rendition of Wet Willie’s “Keep On Smilin’” before the band returned to Allman Bros with their classic cover of Muddy Waters’ “Trouble No More” ahead of set closer, “Jessica.”

For the encore, The Allman Betts Band would welcome all the guests back for a sing-along of the Gregg Allman classic “Midnight Rider” to bring the evening to a close. Watch audience shot video of the encore below via the JamBase Live Video Archive: