Allman Family Revival’s Devon Allman saw the legendary Paul McCartney in concert, and it changed him.
“I was like a 14-year-old kid,” Allman says. “I totally escaped into the experience of ‘Live and Let Die’ with all the pyro and fireworks. It was absolutely fantastic.”
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But at the very same time, Allman was careful to take in the experience not just as a fan, but as a fellow artist. He, too, finds himself constantly out on the road performing his music for a loyal legion of fans.
“I definitely made some observations,” says Allman. “And some of them were mind-blowing.”
From McCartney’s monitors on the floor to the boots on his feet to the way the former Beatle somehow never once consumed a liquid of any kind over the span of the three-hour show, Allman clocked every detail.
“He had this really elaborate, gorgeous Gibson Les Paul guitar with a custom paint job and to see the art, he had replaced a cream-colored pick guard with a clear acrylic pickguard. So, I ordered one the next day,” Allman laughs. “I tried to implement one of Sir Paul’s tricks, and it just didn’t work. It looked horrible.”
Still, it was worth a try—especially as Allman readies to put on his own memorable show in St. Louis at The Factory on November 29 as part of the ninth annual Allman Betts Family Revival Tour. Hosted by Allman and Duane Betts, sons of the founding members Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts, the 20-date, cross-country tour will make stops throughout the country, including New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, as well as new markets like San Antonio and Tucson. But first, the tour will kick off in his beloved St. Louis.
“Hometown shows are difficult, though,” chuckles Allman, who will release his solo art-rock album nightvision in January 2026. “The mystique is not there. You’re playing to people that have seen you mow your lawn.”
Indeed, Allman has not one but two residences in the area.
“We spend half the year in the downtown area, and we spend the other half of the year in a historic, turn-of-the-century house in the ‘burbs,” says Allman, who grew up in South Texas but has lived in the St. Louis area for more than 30 years. “The reason why I don’t leave is absolutely—far and away—family. My son is here, my sister’s here, my nephews are here. Luckily, I see 30 countries touring, so I am never here long enough to grow tired of it.”
And there’s not much he doesn’t love about St. Louis, from the Cardinals to the National Blues Museum to the area’s thriving art scene. All of it wraps into a sense of pride for Allman, especially when he brings his travelling show to town.
“I mean, we’ve got three buses and 30 people and it’s a lot to corral, but luckily, as my father would’ve said, there’s not an ‘a’ in the bunch,” says Allman of the lack of a-holes in the mix of artists coming through St. Louis, including Robert Randolph, Amanda Shires, Richard Fortus, Judith Hill, Jimmy Hall, Cody Dickinson, Luther Dickinson, Alex Orbison, Mattie Schell, Abigail Stahlschmidt, and The Allman Betts Band. “There’s no attitudes. There are no druggies. We are very blessed to have such a fantastic crew.”
It’s a crew and team that feel like family at this point.
“We’ve got it down to a rhythm,” Allman says. “We know what revival as a culture and a climate feels like, onstage and off. Everybody’s super sweet. The great thing about an ensemble cast is that the songbook that we’re celebrating is the boss. I mean, our names are on it, and we’re celebrating our fathers, but ultimately, those songs are the boss and everybody on that tour wants to do the absolute best, most honest version that they can do of these songs.”
