The dirty blond hair is the same, the body posture is also the same, and there are touches in the voice that have a similar genetic connection, but Devon Allman has toiled long and hard to establish his own musical identity, separate from his legendary dad, Gregg Allman. In fact, Allman, who was raised by his mom (Shelley, not Cher) in Texas, took up the guitar on his own, and did not meet his father until he was 16 years old. “I was 16, and I sent him a really short letter saying, ‘Hey, it’s me. Here’s where I’m at. I’m playing guitar.” I got a phone call three days later,” says Devon. Soon after that phone call, the two met in the parking lot at The Fox Theater in St. Louis during a tour stop for the elder Allman. Growing up with his mom, Devon was listening to anything on the radio he could find. Often it was the Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix. “I can remember listening to music at the age of four or five. Something would come on the radio and I would always ask my mom who it was. She would say ‘That’s John Lennon’ or ‘that’s Styx.’ One time “Midnight Rider” came on, and I asked her ‘Mom who’s that?’ and she said ‘That’s your dad.’”

One can never leave a name as famous as “Allman” very far behind. There are traces of his father in his soulful voice and his uncle Duane in his innovative guitar playing. According to Devon, the name both helps and hurts. There will always be fans that come to see him out of curiosity, “But they leave having a respect for the fact that I am my own entity. For Ragged & Dirty, Devon left his southern comfort zone, hired a crack Chicago band, and enlisted the producing and writing talents of Grammy winning producer Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, George Thorogood, Johnny Winter, James Cotton, and Joe Louis Walker). “I’ve done all my records in the south. I decided it was time to go to the electric blues mecca (Chicago), tap into that vibe and surround myself with cats who live and breathe it. Besides producing, Tom custom wrote some songs for this record that really aligned with my path. ”Though Hambridge wrote four tunes and Devon picked three to cover, it’s his original tunes that speak to his artistic journey. “RSB has been such a deep, rich, globe-trotting experience that it definitely changes your life and gives you new perspective. Anytime you’re involved in something to that degree, it will show up in your art. I think the experience has given me more depth as a writer. I’m more willing to let the groove take over and not force things vocally.”

“I can handle echoes. People say they hear echoes of my dad’s soul in my voice, but that I have a definitive sound. My dad says I remind him of Duane, although I’ve never played slide in my life. Whether that seeking is for truth, love, inclusion, acceptance, or peace, we all have a soul that’s longing for something. Longing colors our arts in a myriad of shades. The main thing is now that I really trust my vision for songs. I go with my gut instantly. The focus now is to always get to the essence of the song and the story it’s trying to convey in the simplest way possible.”

Check out Devon Allman Sunday August 14 at the Eagle’s Ballroom. Tickets are available at: Tickets available: https://cactusrecords.net/events/devon-allman-band/ $15 advance / $18 at the door. 21+