Gregg Allman Live: Back To Macon DVD/CD Set For August 7 Release First Allman Solo DVD Release Ever
Blackbird Presents & Rounder Records are excited to announce the release of Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon, GA on August 7, 2015. The stellar live DVD/CD captures Allman and his eight-piece solo band in a high-energy performance that was recorded on January 14, 2014 at the venerable Grand Opera House, a 1,000 seat jewel of a theatre that was built in 1884 in Macon, the Middle Georgia town where it all began for the Allman Brothers Band over 40 years ago. The album features 16 tracks, made up of a varied selection of songs from the ABB catalog, tunes from Allman’s solo albums and several dynamic cover songs. The DVD, the first Allman’s ever released as a solo artist, will include two bonus tracks, as well as special interview segments. Fans can pre-order the record now.
“We played, lived, laughed and cried there,” says Allman about Macon in the package’s liner notes. “And I wrote many, many songs in that town. It’s always good to play Macon, man.”
The great ABB historian and Hittin’ the Note editor John Lynskey wrote the liners. They capture the emotion and historic power of the extraordinary event.
“Gregg took to the Grand Opera House stage with a group that, as he put it, ‘is a real kick-ass band.’ Featuring Scott Sharrard on guitar, bassist Ron Johnson, Ben Stivers on keyboards, drummer Steve Potts, Allman Brothers veteran Marc Quinones on percussion, saxophonists Jay Collins and Art Edmaiston and Dennis Marion on trumpet, these eight players plus special guest, Allman’s son Devon, formed one of the best solo units Allman had fronted in years.
“Gregg summarized the experience of recording Live in Macon thusly: ‘Macon is a wonderful town with wonderful people, and I still have some dear, dear friends there. Macon holds a special place in my heart; it comes with a lot of different memories, but the good ones are all that matter to me now. I’m so proud of this album; boy, we were smokin’ that night.’
Gregg Allman is one of the most acclaimed and beloved icons in rock and roll history. As a founding member of the legendary Allman Brothers Band and in his own storied solo career, Allman has long been a gifted natural interpreter of the blues, his soulful and distinctive voice one of the defining sounds in the history of American music.
At the 54thAnnual Grammy Awards in 2012, the Allman Brothers Band was honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, in part a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the group’s seminal album Eat a Peach. Gregg himself, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, was also nominated for Best Blues Album for his acclaimed first solo record in thirteen years, Low Country Blues.
Allman’s critically acclaimed tell-all memoir, My Cross To Bear, was a New York Times bestseller for many weeks and is now available in both hardcover and paperback. The book focuses on his journey as a struggling artist through the formation of the Allman Brothers Band and their ultimate explosion on the music scene, informed by the hindsight of Allman today, the survivor of unimaginable loss, alcohol and drug addictions as well as a recent liver transplant.
In November, 2014, Allman received the “Living Legend” award from Classic Rock magazine, and recently was the guest of honor at the 67th annual BMI/NAB Dinner. An active spokesman for the “Tune In to Hep-C” campaign, Allman has a full slate of shows scheduled for this summer, including a number of co-headlining dates with the Doobie Brothers.