Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel
Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel
(May 18, 2025 at 7pm)
A great legacy can be a burden or a celebration. Duane Betts, son of the legendary Allman Brothers co-founder Dickey Betts, is proud to honor his father’s memory and work, but at 46, having been a member of Whitestarr and Dawes, and having released a solo album, Wild & Precious Life last year, he has established his own musical chops.
By the time Duane Betts began working on his debut solo album, he’d already spent two decades creating his own version of guitar-slinging, story-driven American rock ‘n roll. “It felt like the right time to make something that was entirely my own vision,” he said. “This is a record that guitar players will love, but at its core, it’s really a song record. It’s an album about who I am, where I come from, and what I believe in.”
The years leading up to Wild & Precious Life’s creation were a whirlwind. Duane cut his teeth with Backbone 69 and Whitestarr and then spent some 10 years playing guitar alongside his father as a member of Dickey Betts & Great Southern. He also traveled the world as a touring member of Dawes before releasing an EP of his own songs, Sketches of American Music in 2018. As the decade drew to a close, Duane co-founded the Allman Betts Band, releasing records in 2019 and 2020.
Still, the need to create a full-length solo album that nodded to his musical roots while simultaneously pushing into new territory, gnawed at him. “I wanted to make a record which would really capture that old-school Florida vibe,” said the Sarasota native. He assembled his dream team of musicians: guitarist Johnny Stachela, bassist Berry Duane Oakley, keyboardist John Ginty, and drummer Tyler Greenwell, and took up old friends Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks on an offer to record at their studio in Jacksonville. It was recorded during a series of live-in-the-recording studio performances in 2022.
“We set up as a band, tracked everything live, and kept whatever takes had the magic,” Betts said. The result is a timeless version of American music, with a mix of the blues, rock, folk, and country. It’s a modern album inspired by some of the best parts of the past, full of sharply written songs, written in a state of deep reflection and Duane’s journey toward sobriety.
In an interview with Guitar World after his father’s death, Betts remembers his father saying that playing a guitar is like telling a story. “He was a very melodic player; he wasn’t always just pulling things out of his bag of licks. He had such a wonderful way of phrasing and intertwining, even though it was made up on the spot.”
Betts understands his father’s importance in the rock firmament, but he is determined to follow his own path. His album and his work capture the emotional release of overcoming struggle, appreciating the fleeting nature of life, and celebrating the joy of being present.
Duane Betts understands as well as anyone how wild and how precious life can be. He also knows that being present and looking towards the future is what brings joy.
Come share it.
(May 18, 2025 at 7pm)
A great legacy can be a burden or a celebration. Duane Betts, son of the legendary Allman Brothers co-founder Dickey Betts, is proud to honor his father’s memory and work, but at 46, having been a member of Whitestarr and Dawes, and having released a solo album, Wild & Precious Life last year, he has established his own musical chops.
By the time Duane Betts began working on his debut solo album, he’d already spent two decades creating his own version of guitar-slinging, story-driven American rock ‘n roll. “It felt like the right time to make something that was entirely my own vision,” he said. “This is a record that guitar players will love, but at its core, it’s really a song record. It’s an album about who I am, where I come from, and what I believe in.”
The years leading up to Wild & Precious Life’s creation were a whirlwind. Duane cut his teeth with Backbone 69 and Whitestarr and then spent some 10 years playing guitar alongside his father as a member of Dickey Betts & Great Southern. He also traveled the world as a touring member of Dawes before releasing an EP of his own songs, Sketches of American Music in 2018. As the decade drew to a close, Duane co-founded the Allman Betts Band, releasing records in 2019 and 2020.
Still, the need to create a full-length solo album that nodded to his musical roots while simultaneously pushing into new territory, gnawed at him. “I wanted to make a record which would really capture that old-school Florida vibe,” said the Sarasota native. He assembled his dream team of musicians: guitarist Johnny Stachela, bassist Berry Duane Oakley, keyboardist John Ginty, and drummer Tyler Greenwell, and took up old friends Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks on an offer to record at their studio in Jacksonville. It was recorded during a series of live-in-the-recording studio performances in 2022.
“We set up as a band, tracked everything live, and kept whatever takes had the magic,” Betts said. The result is a timeless version of American music, with a mix of the blues, rock, folk, and country. It’s a modern album inspired by some of the best parts of the past, full of sharply written songs, written in a state of deep reflection and Duane’s journey toward sobriety.
In an interview with Guitar World after his father’s death, Betts remembers his father saying that playing a guitar is like telling a story. “He was a very melodic player; he wasn’t always just pulling things out of his bag of licks. He had such a wonderful way of phrasing and intertwining, even though it was made up on the spot.”
Betts understands his father’s importance in the rock firmament, but he is determined to follow his own path. His album and his work capture the emotional release of overcoming struggle, appreciating the fleeting nature of life, and celebrating the joy of being present.
Duane Betts understands as well as anyone how wild and how precious life can be. He also knows that being present and looking towards the future is what brings joy.
Come share it.
