Today marks Phish keyboardist Page McConnell’s 50th Birthday and we’ve been celebrating over at JamBase by presenting a list of our 15 Favorite Page-sung Phish One-Timers as well as by sharing the thoughts of jam scene keyboardists Marco Benevento, Matt McDonald, Jason Crosby and Joel Cummins about Page’s influence on their playing. I wanted to make sure HT got in on the act, so we’ll bend the rules on the “full show” part of our Full Show Friday column this week.

My favorite Page McConnell musical experience outside of Phish has to be the night both he and Trey Anastasio performed on three songs with the Allman Brothers Band as part of the group’s 40th Anniversary Run at the Beacon Theatre on March 12th, 2009. At the end of that evening’s first set Page and Trey emerged, along with guitar legend Buddy Guy, to perform Southbound with the Allmans. Then, to kickoff the second set, McConnell and Anastasio added their talents to otherworldly versions of I Know You Rider and In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed.

The entire run was webcast via Butch Trucks’ Moogis service and clips of all three songs have surfaced on YouTube for our viewing enjoyment. Besides the performances themselves, check out the beginning of the Rider to overhear a sweet chat between McConnell and Gregg Allman.

Here’s Southbound, followed by I Know You Rider and In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed…

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While Eric Clapton jammed with the Allman Brothers Band at MSG for last month’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, it was not the first time the acts met up in recent years. Back in 2009 Clapton sat in with the Allman Brothers Band as part of their 40th Anniversary March Madness Run at the Beacon Theatre. Slowhand guested with the Allmans on March 19 and 20 for each show’s entire second sets.

Japanese company Mid Valley Records issued professionally-shot video of EC’s March 19 performance with the ABB on DVD and YouTuber Mal Barker has liberated the bootleg. Watch as Slowhand gets busy on such tunes as Dreams, Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad? and, of course, Layla.

1. Key To The Highway – Allman Brothers Band with guest Eric Clapton (lead vocal / guitar)
2. Dreams – Allman Brothers Band with guest Eric Clapton (guitar)
3. Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad – Allman Brothers Band with guest Eric Clapton (lead vocal / guitar)
4. Little Wing – Allman Brothers Band with guest Eric Clapton (lead vocal / guitar)
5. Anyday – Allman Brothers Band with guests Eric Clapton (vocals / guitar) and Susan Tedeschi (vocals)
6. Layla – Allman Brothers Band with guests Eric Clapton (lead vocal / guitar) and Danny Louis (piano)

[Hat Tip - Couch Tour]

Back in 1979 the Allman Brothers Band reformed after an almost three-year split started in 1976 after Gregg Allman’s role in Scooter Herring’s trial. The ’79 version of the ABB contained original members Gregg Allman on keys, Dickey Betts on guitar, drummers Jaimoe and Butch Trucks as well as new additions “Dangerous” Dan Toler on guitar and bassist David Goldflies. This version lasted for about a year until Jaimoe left the band to be replaced by drummer Frankie Toler.

Future talk show host and Fox analyst Geraldo Rivera joined the Allman Brothers Band on tour for a few dates in 1979 in order to profile the group for 20/20. Last week the entire 10-minute profile surfaced.

Last week we broke the news that the Allman Brothers Band would play a series of shows with Steve Winwood this summer. Today, the dates for the jaunt have been revealed. While the Allmans will share the bill with Winwood at a number of shows, they’ll also perform at Chicago’s Chicago Theatre by their lonesomes and have announced four shows with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

The tour starts with the ABB’s headlining appearance at The Peach Music Festival before the band hits the road in earnest for a pair of “An Evening With” shows in Chicago. On August 23rd they kick off the run with Winwood who will share the bill for a total of six shows. The Allmans’ Summer Tour concludes in early September with four shows featuring Grace Potter and the Nocturnals opening.

Here’s the full list of post-Peach Fest dates…

8/20 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre – “An Evening With” – 5/4
8/21 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre – “An Evening With” – 5/4
8/23 – Darien Ctr, NY – Darien Lakes Perf. Arts Ctr. w/Steve Winwood – 4/27
8/24 – Hartford, CT – Comcast Theatre w/Steve Winwood – 4/26
8/27 – Gilford, NH – Meadowbrook w/Steve Winwood – 4/26
8/28 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Perf. Arts Ctr. w/Steve Winwood – 4/27
8/30 – Raleigh, NC – Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion w/Steve Winwood – 5/10
8/31 – Charlotte, NC – Verizon Wireless Amph. w/Steve Winwood – 5/10
9/2 – Alpharetta, GA – Verizon Wireless Amph. – w/Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – 5/10
9/4 – Virginia Beach, VA – Farm Bureau Live w/Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – 4/26
9/6 – Mansfield, MA – Comcast Ctr. w/Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – 4/26
9/7 – Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater w/Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – 4/26

Of the upcoming tour, Gregg Allman said in a press release, “This will be a good little run. We’ve always loved Steve and we’ve been listening to a lot of Grace’s stuff, so I imagine we’re going to have a bunch of fun together.” We can’t wait to see what happens.

Friday was an afternoon and evening of endless sit-ins at the Wanee Festival in Live Oak, Florida. There were guest spots galore, especially on the main Peach Stage. Warren Haynes and Gov’t Mule brought out John Bell, Dave Schools, Jimmy Herring and JoJo Hermann of Widespread Panic for an incendiary, set-closing version of Neil Young’s Cortez The Killer. Widespread Panic was up next and returned the favor by bringing out Mule keyboardist Danny Louis for a cover of JJ Cale’s Ride Me High and later ended their set with Warren guesting on covers of Jesus Just Left Chicago (ZZ Top) and Maggot Brain (Funkadelic) as well as Chilly Water.

[Photo via Widespread Panic Facebook]

For the evening’s finale, Wanee hosts the Allman Brothers Band welcomed Panic’s John Bell for Can’t Find My Way Home, former member Jimmy Herring for In Memory of Elizabeth Reed and North Mississippi Allstars Luther and Cody Dickinson for One Way Out.

Watch Mule team with Herring, Bell, Hermann and Schools for Cortez The Killer…

Here’s a look at the Mule, Panic and Allmans’ setlists from Friday night…

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The Wanee Festival kicked off last night at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida and goes into full gear today. Our friends at SiriusXM’s Jam ON channel have just announced that they will broadcast sets from HT faves the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gov’t Mule, Widespread Panic and the Allman Brothers Band live from Wanee on Friday and Saturday as part of their “Wanee Weekend.”

The simulcast starts tomorrow afternoon at 4:30PM ET when Gov’t Mule takes the stage and will continue late into the evening with sets from Widespread Panic and the Allman Brothers Band. Then, on Saturday, Jam ON will air sets from the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Widespread Panic and the Allman Brothers Band starting at 4:30PM ET.

Here’s the full rundown…

Friday, April 19th:

430-6pm Gov’t Mule
630-830pm Widespread Panic
930-12am Allman Brothers Band

Saturday, April 20th

430 – 6pm Tedeschi Trucks Band
630 – 830pm Widespread Panic
930 – 12am Allman Brothers Band

I’ll be a guest on tomorrow night’s broadcast and can’t wait to see what collaborations the bands involved have cooked up for this “Wanee Weekend.” You can find Jam ON on Channel 29.

For the past month or so rumors have been circulating among Allman Brothers Band fans that the Southern Rockers would team up with Steve Winwood for a series of shows this summer. Today we have our most definitive proof of the pairing as a listing for an August 28th show at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, New York featuring the two acts has appeared on LiveNation.com [screenshot here].

As of now that’s the only date listed, but we’d be surprised if Winwood and the Allmans don’t play more shows together besides the SPAC gig. The former Traffic multi-instrumentalist is set to tour with Rod Stewart in October and December after a batch of European dates that ends in mid-July, so he’s free in August and September. Meanwhile, the Allman Brothers, who only have appearances at this weekend’s Wanee Festival and August’s Peach Music Fest currently scheduled, have “a tour booked August/September” according to drummer Butch Trucks.

• Previously on HT: Why The Allman Brothers Residency Matters

Perhaps the Allman Brothers were giving us a preview of this summer when they performed Can’t Find My Way Home at the last Beacon Residency 2013 show on March 17th with Jimmy Vivino…

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Using generous math, over the last quarter century, The Allman Brothers Band have cultivated a sense of reverence and loyalty around their annual March residency at New York City’s Beacon Theatre. For a band that traces their origins to the south, it’s a slight curio that the legacy of their autumn years will unquestionably be the evolution of their yearly northern stints into one the most hotly anticipated classic rock events of each year.

[Photo By Dino Perrucci]

The Allmans aren’t the only band that plants roots in New York City. Phil Lesh & Friends and Furthur often spend significant stretches of time in town and this past month has seen Soulive host Bowlive, their own residency in Brooklyn and the Black Crowes return for a series of four shows split between Port Chester and New York City. Artists with deep catalogs are starting to see the allure of extended visits to one venue with Tom Petty exploring the viability of his own residency at the Beacon with five shows in May. Still, no residency comes close to generating the excitement of the Allmans slate of March dates, which raises the question: “what makes The Allman Brothers Band’s Beacon Theatre residency so special?”

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Every three years since 2004 Eric Clapton has called upon his famous guitarist friends and those young axeslingers he admires for a benefit called the Crossroads Guitar Festival to raise funds for Clapton’s Crossroads Centre drug treatment center in Antigua. Following the 2004 edition in Dallas and 2007 and 2010 editions near Chicago, this year’s Crossroads Fest takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Last night was the first of the event’s two nights at the “World’s Greatest Arena.”

[Photos by @languagestrange]

Clapton took the stage as the evening’s first act for a five-song acoustic set and returned at points in the night to sit in with many of the performers on the bill. Booker T was up next and was joined by Steve Cropper, Blake Mills, Matt “Guitar” Murphy and Keb Mo for a set of MGs classics. A summit of guitar gods followed, which saw Clapton team up with B.B. King, Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughan. Sonny Landreth delivered a song while the stage was set for Doyle Bramhall II, who welcomed Citizen Cope and Gary Clark Jr. during his five-song performance. From there, Philip Sayce, Earl Klugh and Al Turner and Kurt Rosenwinkel each took turns leading the proceedings with Clapton joining Rosenwinkel for If I Should Lose You and Way Down That Lonesome Road. Gary Clark Jr. returned for a quick solo interlude which was followed a John Mayer set. Country star Keith Urban helped out Mayer and his band for a cover of Don’t Let Me Down By The Beatles. For Buddy Guy’s set the Chicago legend was joined by Robert Randolph and his protege – Quinn Sullivan. The evening’s MC Dan Aykroyd paired up with Keb Mo for a few tunes before he introduced the Allman Brothers Band to close out the show. The Allmans finished off the evening with a five-song set that included sit-ins from David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, Taj Mahal and Clapton himself for Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?

We’ve compiled photos, videos and the setlist from last night’s show…

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Following the tragic deaths of bassist Berry Oakley and guitarist Duane Allman in 1972 and 1971 respectively, the Allman Brothers Band went on with a revised lineup that featured Dickey Betts as the lone guitar player in the group and the additions of bassist Lamar Williams and piano player Chuck Leavell. One of the few pieces of footage from that era of the ABB, which lasted from 1972 – 1976, was aired on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert’s A Saturday Night In Macon special.

The special featured live performance footage from Wet Willie, Marshall Tucker Band and the Allman Brothers Band that was filmed at Macon’s Grand Opera House on September 10th, 1973. Today, upgraded footage of A Saturday Night In Macon has surfaced thanks to the efforts of A House of Design Production, Donza, Bob Bartelma and BurningShoreProphet.

Let’s take a look at the Allman Brothers Band’s 1973 performance…

Set: Bill Graham intro, Done Somebody Wrong, Southbound, Midnight Rider, Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More, Statesboro Blues, Ramblin’ Man

And here’s the sets from Wet Willie and Marshall Tucker Band…

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One of the many highlights of the Allman Brothers Band’s 40th Anniversary celebration at the Beacon Theatre in 2009 were a pair of performances featuring legendary guitarist Eric Clapton. Clapton and the band will reprise those stellar performances next week at the first of two Crossroads Guitar Festival shows that are planned for Madison Square Garden in New York City on April 12 and 13 according to a Rolling Stone report.

Rolling Stone says Clapton will kickoff the Crossroads fest with an acoustic set on the 12th and then later that night will join the Allman Brothers Band during their headlining set. Eric will headline the second night, but will prepare by sitting in with a few of the acts set to play on the 12th. Top tier tickets are still available for the fest, which features a slew of talented musicians such as Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Booker T. Jones, Citizen Cope and John Mayer.

Here’s a performance of Layla from those 2009 shows…

HT faves RAQ returned to the stage last night to kickoff their first run of headlining shows in years. The mini-tour started at The Paradise in Boston, Mass.; where the quartet treated fans to a mix of classic RAQ originals and covers by the likes of Ween and the Allman Brothers Band.

Here’s the setlist from RAQ @ The Paradise…

Set: Welcome To The Donkey Show > Hannah Can, Will Run, Stuck In A Big Hole > Tumbling Down, Bootch Magoo > Late Night > Push Th’ Little Daisies > Late Night, Shirley Be A Drooler

Encore: Forget Me Not > Whipping Post, Bootch Magoo

You can check out streaming audio or download the entire performance from a SBD Matrix source at the Live Music Archive thanks to taper Ted Gakidis. We’ve uploaded the band’s covers of Whipping Post and Push Th’ Little Daisies to SoundCloud for your listening pleasure…

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After 11 shows the Allman Brothers Band’s 2013 March Madness run at NYC’s Beacon Theatre came to a close on Sunday evening. This special St. Patrick’s Day show was added after the first 10 shows of the residency were announced and started an hour earlier than the other performances. The 2013 Beacon finale had plenty of guest spots, a surprise cover and plenty of jamming, though the set times were shorter than past ABB shows at the venue.

Over the course of the run, the Allmans treated fans to 77 different songs and dozens of special guests. In the first set, the band dusted off High Cost of Low Living off of 2003′s Hittin’ The Note for its initial 2013 performance. The Brothers mixed material from throughout their career dating all the way back to Black Hearted Woman from their 1969 debut all the way up to one of their newest originals – Haynes’ Dusk Till Dawn. Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli emerged for the One Way Out first set closer which also featured percussionist Bobby Allende and a guest drummer spelling Jaimoe.

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UPDATE: We’ve Added Photos by Dino Perrucci

We’ve reached the end of the Allman Brothers Band’s 2013 Beacon Theatre run which concludes later today. For the penultimate show of the residency, the Allmans welcomed a  number of guests to their stage including Wilco’s guitarist, a member of Gov’t Mule and ABB guitarist Derek Trucks’s wife.

[All Photos by Dino Perrucci]

The Allmans have been keeping their rotation fairly tight over the course of the run’s first ten shows, but each performance has had a run debut or two and Saturday night was no exception. Mixed in among ABB classics Midnight Rider, No One To Run With (which featured photos of late band members such as Dangerous Dan Toler flashing on the screen) and Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ in the first set was Egypt. This instrumental was first debuted by the Allmans during the 2005 Beacon Run and saw its first action during this year’s run last night. Susan Tedeschi, ABB guitarist Derek Trucks’ wife, was the star of the show on Saturday with multiple sit-ins. She first emerged to lend guitar work and vocals to the band’s cover of The Sky Is Crying by Elmore James towards the end of the opening stanza.

Earlier this run, the Allmans debuted their version of Long Black Veil and it opened the second set on Saturday. Tedeschi reemerged shortly thereafter along with Gov’t Mule keyboardist Danny Louis and bassist Lincoln Schleifer (Midnight Ramble Band, Donald Fagen) for That’s What Love Will Make You Do. After that, the group delivered another take on The Beatles’ Rain which they debuted at the first show of the run. The center piece of the closing stanza was the run’s first Smokestack Lightning. Longtime ABB associate Col. Bruce Hampton sang the blues standard which also saw contributions from Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Vedo Louise. Just before In Memory of Elizabeth Reed brought the set to a close, bassist Berry Oakley Jr. lent a hand on You Don’t Love Me. While Whipping Post was listed as the encore on the band’s pre-planned setlist, they audibled for One Way Out instead.

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist…

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The Allman Brothers Band’s Beacon Run continued last night in New York City, where the band delivered their ninth of 11 shows that makes up this year’s residency. A number of guests joined in the action on Friday including Bill Evans, Scott Sharrard, Berry Oakley Jr., Jeff Golub and Susan Tedeschi who lent a hand on percussion during the One Way Out encore. In the second set, the Allmans dusted off their Gregg-sung cover of Neil Young’s 1972 classic The Needle and the Damage Done.

The Allmans first performed Neil Young’s ode to the issues that heroin causes during last year’s March Madness run and played it again at last April’s Wanee Festival. A stripped-down version of the band featuring Gregg Allman and guitarists Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes on acoustics performed the cover as they did in last year’s takes. A video has surfaced of the Allman Brothers Band tackling The Needle and the Damage Done last night thanks to YouTuber Diablagato…

Allman Brothers Band – The Needle and the Damage Done

The Allman Brothers Band conclude this year’s Beacon run with shows tonight and tomorrow.

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist…

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