In his more than 20-year recording career, singer/guitarist Devon Allman has turned his hand to many projects, ranging from blues rockers Honeytribe and supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood, to the Allman Betts Band (continuing the legacy of his late father Gregg) and, most recently, an eclectic solo career.
His latest release is The Blues Summit, a joyously collaborative album that finds Allman and his core band joined by, among others, Wet Willie frontman Jimmy Hall and the Memphis Horns.
The first music I remember hearing
My first musical love was The Beatles’ Rubber Soul, when I was four or five years old. For a very young boy, songs like Girl and Norwegian Wood sounded pretty exotic to my ears. The melodies were certainly enchanting. It just had a vibe that’s stayed with me.
The first song I performed live
I had a high-school garage band, playing punk music and rock. We called ourselves Idiosyncrasty. The first thing we ever played live must’ve been a Van Halen song, probably Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love.
The singer
This is super easy for me. My favourite singer of all time is Ray Charles. My grandmother used to play his music in the kitchen, so I had an early affinity for his voice. It was so pure and emotional. When I was a kid, I thought people like that were like gods.
The greatest album of all time
The Stones’ Sticky Fingers is certainly up there, but I’ll go for Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek And The Dominos. It just sounds like a bunch of friends getting in the studio and pouring their hearts out. There’s so much emotion and raw intensity. And it sounds effortless. It’s pretty fantastic.
The songwriters
That golden Stones era, from Beggars Banquet to Goats Head Soup, has so many magical studio moments. It’s wild how those Jagger and Richards songs blended rock, blues, country and soul so convincingly. When I first started to write, and even with the Allman Betts Band, I leaned back on the Stones.
The cult hero
I always put Liz Phair in that indie category, even though some of her later work was more polished. Exile In Guyville [1993 debut] is one of those rare records where I literally love every note. I thought she was way ahead of her time, and that record still sounds fresh to me.
The best record I've made
I stepped outside my comfort zone with Miami Moon [2024]. After a couple of albums with the Allman Betts Band, which is a certain framework musically, I really wanted to shake it up. I wanted some feelgood songs for the crowd, I wanted them to move their asses. It was supposed to be a fun, throwback-to-the-seventies kind of record.
The worst record I've made
I think my first ever album with Honeytribe, Torch [2006], sounded pretty green. We were still trying to find our way. We were in a mad scramble to just have something to sell, and we threw it together pretty quickly. But it was a valuable lesson, because I requested a bigger budget for our next record.
The guitar hero
Jimi Hendrix, always. We actually cover Little Wing on the new album. David Gilmour is another big one for me. I love how he sounds, and it’s very liquid-y. Listening to Pink Floyd’s Animals is just transcendental. And there’s a lot of soul in Gilmour’s playing.
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is a massive guilty pleasure of mine. It feels like manufactured soul, but they did it so well. I’m a deep cuts guy, so stuff like Show Biz Kids, Haitian Divorce, Green Earrings, Bodhisattva…
My 'In the mood for love' song
You can never go wrong with Sade. I guess that would also qualify as a guilty pleasure. She’s had the same band her whole career, and they’re fantastic. Your Love Is King, Smooth Operator, The Sweetest Taboo, all that stuff is so great.
My Saturday night party song
Some good metal always gets me fired up – the first few records by Metallica or Iron Maiden. And there’s some rap that I love: Dr. Dre’s The Chronic or, more recently, Juice Wrld. That’s some good pump-up music. But getting ready for a show, I’ll be in the shower backstage with Steely Dan blasting.
The song that makes me cry
David Gray’s White Ladder [1998] is a perfect bummed-out, rainy-day record. And also Jason Isbell’s Southeastern [2013]. Elephant, in particular, just knocked my socks off. It’s so heavy, yet somehow also kind of triumphant. It’s like a direct hard line to the emotions.
The song I want played at my funeral
It’ll have to be my favourite song of all time, which is Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up. I want everybody to just party down and celebrate the life, instead of bawling their eyes out. As a young child in the seventies I’d hear it on the radio, so it’s also kind of nostalgic for me.
Devon Allman's The Blues Summit is out now via Ruf Records.
