Music News Net

ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Announce 2012 Beacon Theater NYC Run

MUSIC NEWS - Rock legends the Allman Brothers Band has confirmed their annual residency at New York City's Beacon Theater.  For 2012 the group will perform ten shows (so far) in March. The band confirmed the Beacon dates are March 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24 & 25 with potentila for additional dates to be added.

Tickets for the shows will go on sale Friday, January 6, 2012 (earlier for club members). The Brothers returned to the Beacon in 2011 after a year uptown at New York’s United Palace Theatre due to Beacon scheduled conflicts with a CIrque De Soleil show.

Joel "Taz" DiGregorio of Charlie Daniels Band Dies in Car Crash

MUSIC NEWS- Charlie Daniels says his longtime keyboardist, vocalist, and co-writer of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", Joel "Taz" DiGregorio, 67, was killed Wednesday night in a single-car accident on Interstate 40 west of Nashville, TN while on the way to Georgia for a Charlie Daniels Band. booked for October 13 at the Cumming Country Fair and Festival.  Taz was alone in his SUV when his vehicle flipped over going around a curve, Daniels said.  "He was an intricate part of our sound for 40 years," Daniels said on Thursday. "If you listened to our records, you could hear Taz all over them. He had a riff in `The Devil Went Down to Georgia' which was his idea.   "Wearing an ever present cowboy hat and always to Daniels' right on stage, DiGregorio was a fixture of the band's rocking persona."He just fit in with our music for 40 years. It won't be easy without him," Daniels said.

ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND To Wrap Up 2011 With Six Shows

MUSIC NEWS - After being forced to cancel some shows over health issues, the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND gave us some big news today with the announcement of six final shows for 2011.   The dates will include two nights scheduled in Philadelphia, well, Upper Darby, PA at the Tower Theatre on November 26 & 27 and four big nights in Boston, MA at the Orpheum Theatre on November 29/30, December 2/3.

These will be the last of a mere twenty shows this year for ABB;  Gregg Allman (vocals and keyboards), Butch Trucks (drums and tympani), JAIMOE (drums), Warren Haynes (vocals, lead and slide guitar), Derek Trucks (slide and lead guitar), Oteil Burbridge (bass) and Marc Quinones (congas and percussion) as the band members worked on other projects and Gregg recuperated.  In 2011, Mr Allman released Low Country Blues, Warren Haynes' band released Man In Motion and Derek Trucks and his wife,  Susan Tedeschi's group The Tedeschi Trucks Bands released their first album, the wonderful Revelator.  We hope for a more productive 2012 for ABB.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD Cancels Shows Due to Johnny VanZant Health Issue

MUSIC NEWS - Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Johnny Van Zant's health problems have forced the group to cancel several concert appearnaces. A post on the band's website explains that the 51 year old singer was hospitalized last weekend as a result from complications from a previous surgery. The site reports;

“Johnny Van Zant was admitted to the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN on August 6, with a surgical site infected cellulitis which required hospitalization with IV antibiotic treatment. Van Zant has a severe Staph infection and multiple symptoms related to infection. Johnny Van Zant is to remain out of work and recover until cleared by his primary physician.”

So far, the affected tour dates are limited, and are listed below. Lynyrd Skynyrd plans to resume their tour schedule with the Doobie Brothers on Friday, August 19, in Bethel, NY at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

Illness Forces GREGG ALLMAN To Cancel Tour Dates

MUSIC NEWS - More health problems force southern rocker GREGG ALLMAN to cancel his North American concerts dates through September.  His ailment is again the upper respiratory infection that resulted in him canceling a June shows on his European tour.  Back then his doctors believed a few days of rest would take care of the problem.   We guessthe bug was stronger than anyone thought, doctors have ordered him this time to rest for four to six weeks.

Allman will appear at South Dakota’s famous Sturgis Rally at the Legendary Buffalo Chip on August 10, but canceled dates include -

Gregg Allman to Publish His Memoir

MUSIC NEWS - Gregg Allman, solo artist and frontman for the legendary Allman Brothers Band, has signed with William Morrow with plans to publish his untitled memoir in the spring of  2012.  The news arrives just two days after Pete Townshend of The Who signed with HarperCollins (which owns William Morrow) for his memoir, and as bestsellers by Steven Tyler, Sammy Hagar and Keith Richards remain active in bookstores and libraries.

William Morrow describes the work as an "unflinching" look at his life. In a statement announcing the deal, Allman said, "When I got out of high school, I thought, I'll take a year or two off and play the clubs, get this out of my system and then go to med school. More than 40 years later, I figure it's finally time to write about this crazy journey that's taken me around the world and back."

ZZ TOP and LYNYRD SKYNYRD Announce "Rebels & Bandoleros" Tour

MUSIC NEWS - The Rebels & Bandoleros Tour starring ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd launches this May, joining two of the most iconic bands in the history of American rock.  The two groups' histories have been intertwined since the early 1970s and will embark on a series of tour dates together that start May 12 in Wichita, KS and continuing for the three weeks. The tour marks the first time in many years that these iconic standard-bearers of Southern Rock will have toured so extensively together. 

Rebels & Bandoleros will hit markets in Texas, Oklahoma, Maine, New York, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri offering concert goers a wealth of classic material including; from ZZ Top's “Tush,” “LaGrange,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Cheap Sunglasses” and Lynyrd Skynyrd's  “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “What’s Your Name,” “Saturday Night Special,” “Free Bird” along with many others.

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND Reveal Tour Dates and Album News

MUSIC NEWS - Revelator is the long-awaited, song-oriented debut album by the husband-wife team of singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi and guitarist Derek Trucks, with news out today that it's releasing June 7 via Sony/Masterworks.  Said to be filled with smoky, blues-tinged rockers and heart-tugging ballads that show off, respectively, the gutsier and softer side of Tedeschi's vocal ability, and a series of emotive, story-telling solos formed by Trucks's amazing slide-guitar talents, Revelator also serves to introduce the couple's new, 11-piece ensemble, Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Atlanta Rhythm Section's RONNIE HAMMOND R.I.P.

MUSIC NEWS- Macon, GA native Ronnie Hammond, former lead singer of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, passed away today, Monday at a local Georgia hospital.  Hammond, 60, died of a heart attack around 11am, said his brother, Jimmy Hammond.  Hammond had a history of respiratory problems, including diabetes and lung problems

ARS, one of the champions of bluesy southern rock had several national hits during the 1970s, including “Doraville,” “Jukin,” “Champagne Jam,” “Imaginary Lover,” “So Into You,” “I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight,” and a remake of the Classics IV hit “Spooky.”  Hammond left the band in the early 1980s to pursue other interests. During his years off the road, Hammond continued to write music, with songwriting partner, producer (and ARS manager) Buddy Buie.  Hammond also built houses around the Macon, GA area including his own near Lake Tobesofkee. He rejoined the group in 1989 for TRUTH IN A STRUCTURED FORM album and again in the mid '90s.  The group was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

"I know he'd want to be remembered for some of his accomplishments in music," Hammond's older brother, Jimmy Hammond, told the Macon Telegraph nedwspaper.  "Ronnie is one of the most gentle, kindest, humble people you could ever run across," Jimmy Hammond told the paper. "That's just the way he was."

Gregg Allman Announces Tour Dates

MUSIC NEWS - The first leg of Gregg Allman tour dates for 2011 have been announced for April through early June. These shows are his first since the release of the acclaimed Low Country Blues album (out via Rounder Records). The album is the first solo record in 14 years for the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame legend, and it gave him his highest music chart position ever when it debuted at #5 on Billboard's Top 200. T Bone Burnett produced the album at his Village Recorder studio in Los Angeles, and it features Dr. John on piano, guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, and Burnett's brilliant go-to rhythm section: bassist Dennis Crouch and drummer Jay Bellerose. 

Charlie Daniels Band's TOMMY CRAIN Dead at 59

MUSIC NEWS - John Thomas "Tommy" Crain, former CHARLIE DANIELS BAND guitarist and one of the writers of the classic CDB tune, The Devil Went Down to Georgia, passed away on Thursday in Franklin, TN. He was 59. It has been reported that he died in his sleep; however, no cause of death has been released.

Crain joined the band in 1975 after his group, Buckeye, played at Daniel's Volunteer Jam in 1974.   He appears on over twenty albums and also co-wrote over sixty songs including the band's most famous record on which he can be heard in a guitar/fiddle duel with Daniels and for which he won a Grammy.

MOUNTAIN JAM Adds Fourth Day for 2011

MUSIC NEWS - The New York State Mountain Jam Music Festival will expand to four days of camping, fun and music in 2011 as host,  Warren Haynes welcomes a wide range of acts that include My Morning Jacket, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Avett Brothers and, of course, Gov’t Mule (see announcement video below).

Once again at Hunter Mountain in Hunter, NY, the fest runs June 2 thru 5 and is presented by Allman Brothers Band / Gov’t Mule guitarist Haynes along with Radio Woodstock.  This year’s Mountain Jam will also include the first-ever performance at a major northeast festival by Hayne’s new group, the soul-based Warren Haynes Band. 

ALLMAN BROTHERS Add Five Shows to Annual NYC Run

MUSIC NEWS - The ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND annual run at New York City’s Beacon Theatre has been extended -- five additional shows (March 21, 22, 24, 25 & 26)  are being added to the eight previously announced concerts (March 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18 & 19).  Tickets for the added dates go on sale to the general public Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 10am. 

The legendary southern rockers; GREGG ALLMAN (vocals and keyboards), BUTCH TRUCKS (drums and tympani), JAIMOE (drums), WARREN HAYNES (vocals, lead and slide guitar), DEREK TRUCKS (slide and lead guitar), OTEIL BURBRIDGE (bass) and MARC QUINONES (congas and percussion), has performed multi-night residencies in New York City since 1989, and this year’s run will bring the total number of career performances at The Beacon Theatre to 200. 

ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND to Return to the Beacon for 2011

MUSIC NEWS - Today, southern rock legends, The Allman Brothers Band revealed that after this year's "bump" they would return to their hometurf of NYC's Beacon Theater for their March 2011 run.  As importantly, Gregg Allman and ABB members (in town for their Roseland Ballroom gig tonight) got an apology from executives at MSG Entertainment, which runs the NYC concert venue.

At the press conference at the renovated Beacon, James L. Dolan, chairman of Madison Square Garden, said: “I told Gregg before, our apologies for last year. That won’t happen again.”  “We are thrilled to return to The Beacon,” said Gregg Allman. “It’s our New York home and truly where we belong.  We have the most dedicated and loyal fans and know that they will be happy to have us back home.”

Gregg Allman Announces Solo Album, His First in 14 Years !

MUSIC NEWS - Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame southern rock legend Gregg Allman will release his first solo record in 14 years on January 18, 2011 (via Rounder Records).  The set will be entitled Low Country Blues for the coastal Georgia region Allman calls home and was produced by T Bone Burnett, recorded at his Village Recorder studio in Los Angeles.  The work features Dr. John on piano, guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, and Burnett's brilliant go-to rhythm section - bassist Dennis Crouch and drummer Jay Bellerose.

A founding member of the 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 is one of the defining sounds in the history of American music.  Low Country Blues  has Allman putting his own stamp on songs by some of the blues giants whose work has long informed his own, from Muddy Waters and BB King to Buddy Guy and Magic Sam.