Devon Allman

Devon Allman is a St. Louis-born American vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter whose work is rooted in blues rock and rock. He is the son of Gregg Allman and Shelley Kay Jefts, and he grows up in Corpus Christi, Tennessee and St. Louis, after his parents separate when he is an infant. He begins playing music as a teenager, first learning guitar as a child while listening to The Beatles and Kiss. He also names Santana, The Rolling Stones, The Doors and The Allman Brothers Band among his key musical influences, and cites Layla by Derek and the Dominos as a defining record for him.

Honeytribe

In 1999, Allman founds Honeytribe, also known as Devon Allman’s Honeytribe, and leads the band as frontman. The group initially breaks up in 2001 when he steps away to spend time with his newborn son, then reforms in 2005 with its original line-up. Honeytribe tours across North America and Europe, later also playing in Canada, and records two albums. The band releases Torch in 2006 and later Space Age Blues in 2010, after Allman trims the group to a power trio with bassist George Potsos and drummer Gabriel Strange.

Royal Southern Brotherhood and other projects

In 2011, Allman begins work on Royal Southern Brotherhood, a blues-rock supergroup with Cyril Neville, Mike Zito, Grammy-winning drummer Yonrico Scott and bassist Charlie Wooton. The group makes its stage debut in New Orleans and records its first album over five days at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana. Allman later records his first solo album, Turquoise, at Ardent Studios in Memphis with Myles Weeks on bass and Yonrico Scott on drums; Jim Gaines produces the sessions and Pete Matthews engineers them. The album includes guest appearances from Luther Dickinson, Samantha Fish, Rick Steff and Ron Holloway, and Allman tours the material with Pedro Arevalo, Bobby Schneck Jr. and Anthony Nanney.

Collaborations and guest appearances

Allman contributes to recordings by Vargas Blues Band, including Love, Union, Peace, Lost & Found, Flamenco Blues Experience and Comes Alive With Friends. He also appears on the compilation A Song for My Father, plays on Ocean Six’s Somewhere Between Day and Night, guests on Paris Luna’s City Lights, and contributes to Dan Bruder Band’s Act of Kindness. He also appears occasionally as a guest musician with Gregg Allman and The Allman Brothers Band.

Style and career

Allman spends several years in the 1990s performing in the St. Louis blues and rock scene while managing a Guitar Center store in a suburb. In his twenties, he explores different musical styles before later settling more fully into blues and rock. His work includes performances at festivals and on MTV Europe.