LEWISTON — Over the past 20 years there’s been countless performances, a lot of touring and even more jamming.
For Devon Allman, son of Allman Brothers Band founding vocalist and keyboardist Gregg Allman, two decades full of that is a cause for celebration as he took the stage with The Devon Allman Project at Academy Park on a steamy Sunday night.
“I’ve made a lot of bus stops, so to speak, in 20 years,” Allman said in a recent phone interview with the Niagara Gazette.
While the band is only a few dates into the “20 Years Strong Tour,” which marks the anniversary of Allman’s first album with his band Honeytribe, he has maintained a busy 2026 with performances in Japan and Europe with the Allman Betts Band and the release of “nightvision,” a collaborative studio album recorded with his son Orion.
“When I look back, I stayed super busy and this is a fun time to kind of celebrate all of that in one fell swoop. So, anybody that’s been along for the ride for the last 20 years, I think they’ll get a kick out of it.”
While there can be obvious comparisons drawn between Allman and his father, Gregg, he has never shied away from embracing his father’s legacy and has included several Allman Brothers Band songs as setlist staples. On Sunday night, a total of three songs from the Allman Brothers Band catalog were performed — “One Way Out,” “Dreams,” and “Melissa.”
“That’s a sacred songbook and it’s one that you have to really be mindful of,” Allman observed. “If I got on stage and didn’t do one of my father’s songs, that would be really weird.”
Sunday’s stop in Lewiston was one of many that Allman has made over the past two decades in Western New York. Having played numerous venues and stages throughout the area, Allman remembers one particular stop on his first major solo tour in support of Honeytribe’s album “Torch” in 2006 as being one of the most memorable.
“Buffalo on that “Torch” tour was my first sellout. So that always has a special place in my heart,” he said.
Throughout the 10-song set that spanned over 90 minutes, Allman performed “Mahalo” from that album and sprinkled in songs from the Allman Betts Band, Royal Southern Brotherhood and his solo material.
While each song featured lengthy improvisational jams where each band member took their turn in the spotlight, Allman’s soaring, soulful lead guitar chops stood out throughout the performance.
“We are sonic doctors and our medicine goes into the ears and hits the heart,” Allman said.
As the night wore on, it was pretty apparent that the Allman catalog hit the audience in all the right places as the devoted audience was huddled at the front barriers by the time he strapped on his Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar and rang out the first chords of “Melissa.”
The momentum carried over after the band said their initial on-stage goodbyes and came back out for a spirited encore of “Runners In The Night,” a grooving blues rocker from Allman’s “Blues Summit” album.
Once Allman wraps up the tour, he’ll be ready to close the door on this chapter of his musical career as he gears up for a yet-to-be-announced musical project.
“I’m working on a new project that really feels like the lane that I’ve always been searching for and I think it will effectively negate a lot of where I’ve been in a beautiful way,” he said. It’s not to say I’ll never play something off those first 12 records again. I spent 20 years doing it.”