After decades of playing with everyone from the Allman Betts Band to Dawes, guitarist Duane Betts has released his debut solo album, Wild & Precious Life. On his first full-length under his own name, the son of founding Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts charts his own path with help from Derek Trucks, Marcus King, and Nicki Bluhm.
Of course, there’s no escaping the inherent Allman Brothers DNA that courses through Duane’s playing. It’s indelible in many of the intros and solos on Wild & Precious Life, but looking beyond those bends and riffs listeners can hear a voice that has been percolating for years waiting to get the words just right.
“It felt like the right time to make something that was entirely my own vision… It’s an album about who I am, where I come from, and what I believe in,” Betts said of the album.
Recorded at Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi‘s Swamp Raga Studio in Jacksonville, a sunny, cross-coastal drive for Sarasota native Betts. Duane obviously has much more in common with Derek than simply their Sunshine State heritage, as the nephew of drummer Butch Trucks himself had to take the bold step from out of the Allman Brothers’ shadow years ago. In their collaboration “Stare at the Sun”, the two guitarists honor Duane’s father and the legacy he created, while also adding new voices to the lineage with their crushing dual guitar harmonies. Meanwhile, on his Marcus King joint “Cold Dark World”, it’s Betts who takes on the elder statesman role as he kicks out the blues-based jams with the young gun.
To celebrate the release of Wild & Precious Life, Duane Betts will head out on tour with Palmetto Motel. The cross-country trek kicks off tonight, July 14th, in Fort Lauderdale, FL and rolls clear through until October 14th with the closer in the Allman Brothers stronghold of Macon, GA. Along the way, Betts will host the inaugural Horseshoe Music Festival September 1st–3rd in Jackson Hole, WY, where he wrote much of the new album.
Stream Duane Betts’ debut solo album Wild & Precious Life via the player below or on your preferred streaming platform. Head on over to his website for tickets and a complete list of tour dates.
Duane Betts – Wild & Precious Life