For 45 years, Gregg Allman led the Allman Brothers Band through periods of incredible success and great fortune, along with the devastating deaths, setbacks, addictions, and internal squabbling that consumed the group all the way until their final shows in 2014. The upcoming documentary Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul traces the entire saga from the perspective of Allman himself, and takes a broader look at his life, onstage and off.
In a new trailer, vintage footage from the 1970s shows Allman speaking about the loss of his brother, Duane Allman, in a 1971 motorcycle accident. “I was mad at him for dying,” he says. “I was mad at life. You never know how much you’re leaning on someone until they die.” (Gregg Allman died in 2017.)
A premiere event for Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul will take place June 9 at New York’s Gramercy Theater. Gregg’s son Devon Allman will be on hand for a special acoustic performance with his Allman Betts Band bandmate Duane Betts, son of the late Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts. Another screening will take place June 11 at the Grand Opera House in Macon, Georgia, and feature an appearance by Allman Brothers Band/Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell. Both events are sold out.
The films official opens June 17 at over 200 screens across America. Head here for tickets.
Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul was directed by James Keach, whose credits as a producer include Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, David Crosby: Remember My Name, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, and the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. The film was made in association with Rolling Stone Films and is executive produced by Rolling Stone’s Alexandra Dale.
“Gregg’s story totally resonated with me,” Keach said in a statement, noting that it was important to him to explore how early pain and loss shaped Allman’s life. “Not everyone works this way, but I believe that understanding trauma from the formative years of a person’s life is central when telling their story in a documentary,” he continued. “A lot of incredible artists have these shattering experiences in their past that inform every aspect of their lives and talent. Gregg had those demons inside his amazingly creative brain. He dove deep into his addiction when Duane died, but later in life, when he was sober, he faced his own mortality with dignity and acceptance. It’s personally important to me to carry Gregg’s message of trying to change the trajectory of people consumed by addiction. You can hear the ache in his voice in his brilliant music.”
Drummer Jai Johanny Johanson, better known as Jaimoe, is the last surviving member of the original incarnation of the Allman Brothers Band. But next-generation acts like the Allman Betts Band are keeping the music alive on the road. There have also been occasional shows by the Brothers‚ an informal group of Allman-affiliated musicians consisting of Jaimoe, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, and Joe Russo, at Madison Square Garden.
