by Lee Stockdale
Devon Allman, Gregg Allman’s son, brings his band, Honeytribe, to the main stage of the Blue Ridge Barbecue & Music Festival, Saturday, June 11.
Gregg Allman is, of course, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. Devon Allman is Honeytribe’s frontman, lead guitarist and vocalist. Other members are George Potsos on bass and Gabriel Strange on drums.
Devon has told journalists he grew up on a steady diet of Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones, Santana, Beatles, Kiss and similar assorted rock and roll, but he’s tried hard to forge his own sound, from the heart, so he’s not a clone of his father, Gregg, or of the Allman Brothers.
Honeytribe is currently on its Space Age Blues tour, playing music from their newly released album of the same title, and their appearance at the Blue Ridge Barbecue & Music Festival is part of that tour.
Devon grew up in St. Louis, and Honeytribe was formed there.
Gregg Allman was appearing at The Pageant, St. Louis’s premier small venue, and Gregg had with him exactly what you’d expect – a straight ahead, driving southern rock band, with a sax player who peeled the paint off the Pageant’s baroque ceiling.  Gregg brought a hefty number of Allman Brothers songs to the stage, and played a surprisingly eclectic mix, to include Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman,” which Gregg played alone in front of his Hammond B3.
Then, at the end of the night, things heated up and Gregg broke into “Whipping Post.” Out comes this young guy on electric guitar who peeled whatever paint was left on that ceiling right off. The guitar player was Devon Allman. Devon was all energy and he rocked the house.
Three months later was St. Louis’s annual Big Muddy Blues Festival, headlined by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers (Eric Clapton played with the Bluesbreakers after the Yardbirds; before he formed Cream). Honeytribe performed there.
It’s not the Allman Brothers or the Stones or Santana – it’s Honeytribe. The crowd couldn’t get enough; couldn’t stay off their feet.
Since that time, Honeytribe has taken off, touring all over Europe and the States, playing almost every night of the year at a club or blues festival.  And now they’ll be at the Blue Ridge Barbecue & Music Festival Saturday, June 11.