Devon Allman’s summer and fall touring includes a trio of Louisiana visits.
The blues-rocking son and nephew, respectively, of Allman Brothers Band co-founders Gregg and Duane Allman, Devon Allman has been making his mark in music for nearly three decades. His “Blues Summit” tour comes to Baton Rouge on Thursday, Aug. 7, and Lake Charles the following day. He returns to Louisiana in October for a show in New Orleans.
The “Blues Summit” tour shares its title with Allman’s guest-filled new album. Released last week by Germany’s Ruf Records, it pairs the Devon Allman Project with five special guests — young Mississippi blues star Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Wet Willie singer and harmonica player Jimmy Hall, sacred steel guitarist Robert Randolph, Michigan-based blues singer-guitarist Larry McCray, and gospel-influenced New Orleans rhythm-and-blues singer Sierra Green.
The 'Blues Summit' tour shares its title with Devon Allman’s guest-filled new album released last week by Germany’s Ruf Records.
“I want to see things through a different lens and work with different people,” Allman said from his home in St. Louis. “This (‘Blues Summit’) is another step in that direction. The different textures and depth wouldn’t be possible with it only being a Devon Allman record.”
Allman’s studio guests Hall, McCray and Green are joining him on tour. He has an especially long association with Hall, the voice of Wet Willie’s 1974 Top 10 hit, “Keep On Smilin’.” Wet Willie opened shows for the Allman Brothers Band in the 1970s and Hall later joined the Gregg Allman Band.
“Jimmy played saxophone, harmonica and he gave my dad a break in the show by singing a couple of songs in the show,” Devon Allman said. “He has always been Uncle Jimmy to me. I think my dad is smiling down because I’m keeping Jimmy Hall working and rocking. At 75 years old, it’s uncanny how powerful his voice is.”
The powerfully vibrant “Blues Summit” album is one of the dozen recording projects Allman has produced for himself and others.
“This is probably my proudest producer moment,” he said. “It was a treat to pick which songs feature horns; to tell Kingfish, ‘Man, don’t be shy. Play exactly like B.B. King’; and to talk the string section through ‘Real Love.’ It was an honor and a pleasure to have all these folks trust me.”
Allman chose to interpret two classics for the “Blues Summit” album, Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” and Willie Dixon’s Chicago blues classic “Wang Dang Doodle.” His “Little Wing” recording followed Allman’s performances of the song on the 2025 “Experience Hendrix” tour. It’s modeled after the Derek and the Dominos record of the song featuring Allman’s late uncle, Duane Allman.
“It was a no-brainer to record that version,” Allman said. “And ‘Wang Dang Doodle' is such a classic. I knew Jimmy Hall would murder it.”
Prior to his “Blues Summit" project, Allman worked with his bands Honeytribe and the Devon Allman Project; performed and recorded with the Royal Southern Brotherhood (with New Orleans’ Cyril Neville) and the Allman Betts Band (with Duane Betts); and enjoyed a Top 5 Spanish hit with Spain’s Vargas Blues Band.
Despite having a music star father, Allman didn’t grow up in the music business. The child of the late Gregg Allman’s first of seven marriages, he spent most of his childhood separated from his father. Upon meeting his father for the first time at 16 years old, Devon Allman and his long-absent dad formed an instantly close relationship.
In the early 2000s, Allman took a break from the traveling musician’s life. During his first child’s early years, he worked at a real job and played solo acoustic gigs on the side. His career revived in 2005 after he sang three songs for an album by Spain’s Vargas Blues Band. One of those songs, “How Verso Are You?,” became a Top 5 hit in Spain.
“That was crazy,” he said. “The song went to No. 2. We were on MTV and Toyota commercials. I always laugh with my wife and say, ‘I’m a Spanish rock star.’ For one summer, I was on top of the world.”
His surprise Spanish success gave Allman the confidence to invest the income generated by the hit into producing his 2006 album, “Devon Allman’s Honeytribe.”
“I placed all bets on me,” he said. “I’m glad I did. My first record came out and I toured the world with it, opening for heroes and jamming with heroes. It carved my trajectory right there and then.”