The Allman Betts Band to perform at St. Augustine Amphitheatre Feb. 6

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On Saturday, Feb. 6, jam-rock group The Allman Betts Band will take the stage at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre.

Tickets for The Allman Betts Band are currently on sale. To protect the health of  guests, artists, team members, crew and the well-being of live music, enhanced health and safety measures are in place.

When The Allman Betts Band released “Down to the River” in June of 2019, the debut album represented not only the first time the group had recorded together, but in fact was the first time the seven-piece ensemble had ever played together. If “Down to the River” was the sound of the band’s combustible sparks igniting, then “Bless Your Heart” is its bonfire, built for the summer of 2020 and beyond.

A double-album follow-up fueled by road-forged camaraderie and musical intensity, vibrantly reflecting the individual and collective experiences of these seven, all drawing inspiration from the band’s symbolic hometown — a place Devon Allman calls “the United States of Americana.” 

In 2019, as “Down to the River” topped charts and dotted playlists, The Allman Betts Band toured relentlessly. Sold-out U.S. theaters in spring turned to festival dates in summer, even crossing the Atlantic for a string of European appearances. It was in Germany in late July when Allman, the group’s co-founder, guitarist and singer, required a tour-ending hospital stay for surgery. His recovery postponed several ensuing shows, but the writing for a second album enthusiastically continued. 

Along with co-founder, guitarist and singer Duane Betts, the pair already had a growing notebook of new songs, largely composed on the tour bus or in hotel rooms in cities and towns across the country. They re-enlisted Stoll Vaughan, a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles (via Kentucky), who’d collaborated on five of “River’s” nine tracks, to advise on the developing material. And they booked a return to Alabama’s Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the historic recording facility where they’d cut the debut, as well as re-signing Grammy-winning producer Matt Ross-Spang to reprise his role helming the recording.

Over a week’s time, they recorded 13 songs, with additional tracking in Memphis and St. Louis. Within the eclectic repertoire are the familiar — stacks of guitars; electric, acoustic and slide; a throttling, percussive rhythm section — and the fresh.

“I think we definitely challenged ourselves, pushed ourselves artistically, and widened the spectrum on all levels. We wanted something that was a little more sweeping. A deeper experience,” Betts said.

Said Allman, “I hope what people hear on ‘Bless Your Heart’ is a band that’s having a love affair with being a band.”

Tickets for The Allman Betts Band are available for purchase at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre Box Office and online at Ticketmaster.com. The St. Augustine Amphitheatre Box Office will be open on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m,, and will only accept payment via debit or credit card.