The first of five Gregg Allman-curated Laid Back Festival dates gets underway tonight (Thursday) at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Created by Allman and his manager, Michael Lehman, this is the third year of shows.
Gregg Allman's manager Michael Lehman on creating the Laid Back Festival with Gregg:
"We would sit and we would think about, 'Okay, we want to create an experience for young and old, but someone that doesn't necessarily want to go to a multi-day festival. They want to come out for one day and have an elevated food experience, be able to enjoy five or six or seven hours of music, have a real seat, have real bathrooms that they can use and then go home. Then when Gregg became sick he wanted it to go on and so we continue it this year in the spirit of Gregg Allman."
Tonight's show features Jackson Browne, Steve Van Zandt and Allman Brothers Band drummer Jaimoe and his Jasssz Band.
Jackson, who was roommates with Allman in the late '60s, and Jaimoe will also be on the bill for Hartford, Connecticut on Saturday and Wantagh, New York on Sunday. Joining them for those shows are Steve Winwood and Peter Wolf, with Garland Jeffreys on the Sunday bill.
The festival then moves to Irving, Texas on October 7th with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jimmie Vaughan, before wrapping up in Atlanta on October 14th with Skynyrd and the Gregg Allman Band featuring his son, Devon Allman.
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Another member of the extended Allman Brothers Band family has died. Johnny Sandlindrummed with Duane and Gregg’s pre-Allmans group The Hourglass, engineered Live at Fillmore East and Eat a Peach and co-produced Brothers and Sisters and Win, Lose or Draw. He passed away of cancer at age 72 on Tuesday.