Brandon “Taz” Niederauer has been gaining the momentum he deserves since before even entering middle school. The guitar prodigy was initially recognized by the Internet for his Allman Brothers Band covers when he was only eight years old. When he was nine, he attended a music camp called Roots Rock Revival with founding member and drummer Butch Trucks and then-current bassist Oteil Burbridge. It was there that he impressed the right group of people with his performances of songs like “Stormy Monday” and “Southbound.” Just a few months later, he was invited to sit in with The Revivalists at the Brooklyn Bowl in New York City and wowed the audience with a blistering version of “Whipping Post.” In that same year, he performed for Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen Show, playing a few popular snippets including the Allman Brothers Band’s “Jessica.”
When founding member, lyricist, vocalist, and organist Gregg Allman caught site of these videos, he invited the ten-year-old to join him and his band in early 2014 at the Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach, Florida. The plans were initially for Brandon to sit in for “Hot Lanta,” but after a successful soundcheck, Gregg Allman invited Taz to return for a “Whipping Post” encore. See why in the video below:
The day after this performance, Brandon Niederauer embarked on his first and only appearance to date on Jam Cruise to perform alongside a boat full of even more of his idols. It was on Jam Cruise that he met Col. Bruce Hampton, a friend and collaborator of the Allman Brothers Band since the very beginning, earning his guidance and mentorship. Niederauer’s success story ever since has been a direct result of these experiences.
Stranger Than Fiction: The Cosmic Curtain Call Of Col. Bruce Hampton
While performing a lead role as guitarist “Zack” in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock The Musical for the last two years, Brandon Niederauer’s name has circulated the jam scene for many more reasons than that. His fate became clear earlier this month when he performed the final solo of “Turn On Your Lovelight” at Hampton 70, while Bruce majestically laid beside him. In what was initially interpreted as a Zambi prank, time made it clear that the “Grandaddy of Jam” had passed the torch to Brandon on that very stage.
Brandon’s relationship with the Allman Brothers Band goes far beyond their music. Now engrained as an official part of the band’s history, the fourteen-year-old is utilizing the last several years of mentorship to the best of his ability. See below for some of the posts he’s written since the passing of Gregg Allman, Col. Bruce Hampton, and Butch Trucks.
[photo by Sidney Smith]