Watch Luther Dickinson Join Jason Isbell To Honor ‘Brilliant Southern Musician’ Dickey Betts In Mississippi

On Friday night, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit staged a concert at The Sound Amphitheater in Gautier, Mississippi with support from the North Mississippi Allstars. Frontman/guitarist Jason Isbell sat in with openers during their set and then recruited NMA guitarist Luther Dickinson for a tribute to The Allman Brothers Band co-founder Dickey Betts.

Friday’s concert came a day after Betts’ death at age 80. Isbell invited Dickinson out at the start of the encore to join him and The 400 Unit guitarist Sadler Vaden on a triple guitar performance of The Allman Brothers Band’s instrumental “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed.” The intricate, multifaceted composition was written by Betts and was one of the Allmans’ signature songs.

Prior to playing the tribute to Betts, Isbell spoke about his impact, telling the audience:

“We lost our dear Dickey Betts this week. We love Dickey Betts. He’s one of the biggest influences on my music and I think everybody up here on this stage would say the same thing.

“I grew up learning his songs, sorta. I mean, I was trying to learn how to play his songs and trying to figure out how he wrote them, and how he played them, and how he sang them. He was one of the true brilliant, brilliant Southern musicians of all time. So we’re going to play a song for Dickey Betts.”

Watch audience-captured video footage of Luther Dickinson sitting-in with Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit on “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” in honor of Dickey Betts via the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWbFakk_-nI