Allman Brothers Band drummer and the last of the group’s original lineup Jaimoe will celebrate the life of his late bandmate Dickey Betts at a special one-off performance with Friends of the Brothers. The sold-out show from the ABB tribute project is set for Sacred Heart University Community Theatre in Fairfield, CT on Saturday, April 27th.
Friends of the Brothers features several members with deep ties to the Allman Brothers family. Guitarist/singer Junior Mack began fronting the now-dormant Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band in 2006, guitarist Andy Aledort played for 12 years with Dickey Betts & Southern Star, and third guitarist Alan Paul has written two authorized biographies on the Allman Brothers including One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. Saturday will mark Jaimoe’s first live performance since January 2023.
“We started this band in the shadow of Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks’ 2017 passings to honor their memories and celebrate the music of the Allman Brothers Band, which has been central to all of our lives,” Alan Paul said. “We love Jaimoe as a person and as a musician and are beyond excited to have him join us for what will be a very special night honoring the music and legacy we care so much about.”
Dickey Betts passed away on April 18th at the age of 80. The guitarist co-founded the Allman Brothers Band in 1969 alongside Jaimoe, brothers Duane and Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley, and Butch Trucks. After the tragic and untimely death of Duane Allman in a 1971 motorcycle crash, Betts stepped up as the de facto leader of the group and helmed it through its period of greatest commercial success in the mid-1970s. Though Betts and the Allman Brothers suffered an unamicable and irreparable split in 2000, Dickey’s influential guitar playing had already been enshrined as a pillar of Southern rock.
“I enjoyed playing music with Richard for 50 years,” Jaimoe, 79, said in a statement. “We got to send the old boy off right. Rest in peace to my old friend.”