Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel with Jason Charles Miller
The Vogel – Red Bank, NJ – April 16, 2025
Review & Photos – Rebecca Wolf
https://www.instagram.com/rebeccawolfconcertphotos/
Exactly six years ago I became acquainted with The Allman Betts Band when they emerged on the music scene a few months prior to the June 2019 release of their debut album Down to the River. The news of this collaboration between Devon Allman and Duane Betts (the sons of Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts of the legendary Allman Brothers Band) brought devoted Allman Brothers fans out in droves, eager to set their eyes and ears on this next musical generation. Unlike many of those devout fans, who entered an Allman Betts Band performance with preconceived feelings and expectations, I had none of those. While I of course knew several of the Allman Brothers’ iconic numbers, I did not have a long-standing devotion to the band or connection to their music, nor was I familiar with any of Devon Allman’s or Duane Betts’ prior musical endeavors. However, after attending and photographing their April 2019 performance at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, NY, I was instantly enthralled with the band’s music and the band’s namesakes. It was quickly evident that these co-leaders had very different personalities, expressive energy and musical expertise. While each was clearly skilled on both guitar and vocals, it was Betts who presented as a phenom on the guitar and Allman who showcased incredibly powerful, rich vocal abilities. Allman also exhibited frontman spirit, vibrance, and communication with the crowd, while Betts remained absorbed in the moment and laser-focused on the music.
During these past six years I’ve had the good fortune to attend and photograph a number of Allman Betts Band performances, as well as separate performances by Devon Allman and Duane Betts (the latter recently performing with his band Palmetto Motel, currently including Johnny Stachela, slide guitar, Pedro Arevalo, bass, Vince Fossett Jr., drums, and Max Butler, B-3 organ.) From my first Allman Betts show, to now attending Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel’s April 16, 2025 show at The Vogel in Red Bank, NJ, there’s been a perceptible change in Betts’ overall presence and demeanor. Whether it’s due to the additional six years of performance experience, the six years of personal growth (including getting married and now 8 years of sobriety), an increase in confidence after releasing his 2023 debut solo album, or likely a combination of factors, Betts presented that evening with a more relaxed, revitalized spirit.
Audience members were themselves already in high spirits when Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel hit the stage. This heightened mood was in no small part due to the Southern rock energy generated by the evening’s opening musician, Jason Charles Miller and his accompanying guitarist Gary Joseph Potter Jr. Jason Charles Miller is no newcomer to the music industry. On the contrary, for more than 30 years Miller has worked as a professional singer, songwriter, musician, voice actor and producer. While the earlier part of his career was spent as a band frontman, over the past 15 years Miller has established himself as a solo artist, collaborating with an array of musicians. Miller has released six solo albums whose genres have run the gamut from rock, to Americana, to country, to Southern rock, his most recent release, 2024’s Knives in the Dark.
On April 16th at The Vogel, Miller entered the stage with his black rolled-edge cowboy hat, black cowboy boots, black denim vest, tattooed arms and long gray beard, his outward persona the quintessential combination of “Southern” and “Rock”. While I’d never heard Miller’s music before I was immediately drawn in by the combination of his powerful, emotive vocals and his dynamic energy on the acoustic guitar. To me, there’s nothing quite the same as an acoustic guitar performance. There’s a “realness” to the acoustic guitar, an “old school” sound and feel. As our society continues to become more technology-based, it’s always welcoming to me to return to music’s nontechnical origins. While I didn’t know how many in the crowd that evening were already familiar with Jason Charles Miller, it was clear everyone was immediately engaged and remained locked in as Miller and Potter passionately jammed on their acoustic guitars. “I really like him!” my friend, an aficionado in Southern rock (who’d also never previously heard Miller’s music) expressed to me shorty into the set. That to me was a stellar endorsement.
The 30-minute set included several songs from Knives in the Dark, including the heartfelt “Digging in the Dust,” the album’s first single, “The Enemy,” a dynamic anthem and “Run the Road,” a passionate, touching rock number. Additional songs in the set included, “No Bridge Left Unburned” and “Hundred Pound Hammer” from 2018’s In the Wasteland, and “You Get What You Pay For” from 2012’s Natural Born Killer, which Miller wrote for an episode of HBO’s True Blood. “I grew up in Virginia but live in Hollywood now,” Miller shared with the crowd. “I call it a necessary evil. I write a lot of music for television shows and video games and I had the good fortune to write this song for an episode of True Blood on HBO, which is about vampires from the south. So, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s me, so I can do that!’” It was with that admission to the crowd that I became fully aware that Miller was not just “some” opening act but an accomplished music professional.
With the departure of Miller and Potter from the stage, the crowd’s spirits remained in heightened Southern rock mode, ready for the arrival of Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel. As typical of Duane Betts, he made his way onstage without a grand entrance, as his bandmates likewise took their places without any fanfare. However, this did not stop the crowd from their expressive appreciation, enthusiastically applauding as the band opened the set with “Savannah’s Dream,” a 12-minute instrumental number from The Allman Betts Band’s 2020 album Bless Your Heart. This incredible guitar showcase, was the perfect opening to the set, as above all else Betts is a phenomenal guitarist. Anyone who’s had the fortune to see Betts perform can attest that watching his fingers traveling back and forth along the fretboard is enthralling. Composed by Betts, the song equally displays his strong, vibrant musical writing skills. The number’s bluesy, melodic flow immediately lulls you into a dream-like state and the muted red and green lights that bathed The Vogel stage added to the mesmerizing ambiance.
Having begun the evening with a calm, smooth musical foundation, Betts immediately added a layer of dynamic, Southern rock spirit with “Cold Dark World,” from his debut solo album Wild & Precious Life. As the energy of the music grew, Betts’ often reserved presence began to shift, his expressions becoming more animated and a glimmer of a smile peeked through. “Hey, we’re going to play another song from our new album. You all know Nikki Bluhm, right?” Duane questioned, as the crowd applauded. “Well, she sang with me on this next song. It’s called “Colors Fade.”” Opening with the sound of wailing guitars and rhythmic bass and drum beats, the number created a warm, swampy vibe….that feeling of a nighttime cruise on a riverboat.
The setlist continued with a perfect combination of those songs you could close your eyes and drift away to, mixed with the powerful numbers that had you at the edge of your seat. “Stare at the Sun” showcased Fossett Jr. passionately pounded on the drums, as Stachela created squealing slide guitar riffs. Stachela was again able to showcase his phenomenal skills on slide guitar during “Saints to Sinners’” upbeat, positive groove. The setlist also incorporated several covers that provided additional opportunities for each band member to display their musical expertise. A cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Honky Tonk Heroes,” highlighted Arevalo’s gritty, melodic vocals during the song’s slow, meandering opening. Transitioning to a speedy, knee-slapping honky tonk, Stachela again brandished his moves on slide guitar and Butler performed an incredible organ solo that turned The Vogel into an old-time saloon.
Playing “Back Where it All Begins,” an Allman Brothers Band cover, written by dad Dickey Betts, was nothing other than extremely apropos for Duane. Anyone who’s heard or watched Duane Betts perform knows that Duane both looks and sounds incredibly like his father, has extraordinary guitar skills like father and is now also showcasing immense songwriting skills. In another phenomenal cover of a Dickey Betts penned Allman Brother’s song, the already 13-minute “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” was extend by an additional several minutes, showcasing Butler’s exceptional skills, as he passionately raced his fingers across the keys, followed by Fossett Jr.’s rhythmic explosion on the drums. Additional songs in the set included a cover of Wilco’s “Impossible Germany,” “Taking Time,” from Betts’ 2018 EP Sketches of American Life, “Forrest Lane,” from his recent release and “Rivers Run,” from Bless Your Heart.
Throughout the 2-hour set Betts remained zoned into his musical performance, but seemed more relaxed/chill, periodically communicating to the crowd between songs, displaying impassioned facial expressions (even an occasional grin) and in one uninhibited moment kicking his leg in the air while jamming on his guitar. Towards the end of the set a crew member walked onstage with a candlelit birthday cake (for Betts 47th birthday that day), drawing a slightly shy, almost uncomfortable smile from Betts as he mumbled, “Oh…I kind of forgot.” As the crowd cheered Betts made his way across the stage, clearly feeling a bit sheepish, and waited while being serenaded with “Happy Birthday” by all in attendance. As he blew out the candles, Betts let a rare, full smile spread across his face.
The evening’s encore, “Waiting on a Song,” from Wild & Precious Life, is a feel-good, foot-stomping number, with flashy guitar solos. The energy and spirit of the song is perfectly suited to the song’s lyrical message about waiting, holding onto hope, and the changes that are sure to come. “The valley’s low…The mountain’s high….Dreams have their way…Of changing us with time…The rivers are long…Your Dreams are Wide…Water has its way of changing everything with time…Love has its way of changing everything with time.” It appears that Betts has written these lyrics from life experience, as his dreams and his love (for his music, his family and himself) do seem to be changing him with time. We all look forward to hearing and seeing where Duane Bett’s wild and precious life takes him next.
