'Family' business: Melody Trucks to join Allmans tribute shows in Jacksonville, Sarasota

Melody Trucks has known some of the musicians playing in the Allman Family Revival since she was a kid, so when she got the call to join them on stage for the first five shows of the tour, she didn't hesitate. She's part of the "family," after all.

Trucks, who lives in Jacksonville, is the daughter of Butch Trucks, one of the founders of the Allman Brothers Band, which formed in a house in Riverside and played its first shows in Jacksonville before going on to a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career. She and her brother, Vaylor, will join the ad-hoc band for shows in Clearwater, Sarasota and Pompano Beach before wrapping up their run on the tour at the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville on Wednesday.

The tour was put together by Devon Allman as a tribute to the life and music of his father, Gregg, the singer and keyboardist who died in 2017. This will be the sixth tour, but the first Trucks has played on and the first to visit Jacksonville.

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Trucks said she has many fond memories of Gregg Allman.

"Gregg was one who liked to keep kind of to himself," she said. "When I would see Gregg, it would be at shows, so there was always something going on and I kind of liked to let him have his space. I have memories of him from when I was old enough to have memories. He was always so sweet and kind to me."

She and Vaylor will join a lineup that includes Devon Allman, Duane Betts (son of Allman Brothers founding guitarist Dickey Betts), singer Jimmy Hall from Wet Willie and Jeff Beck's band, Nashville singer Maggie Rose, blues guitarist Larry McCray, bassist George Porter Jr. from the Meters, drummer Alex "Orbi" Orbison, singer/songwriter/surfer Donavon Frankenreiter, John Ginty and Johnny Stachela from the now-defunct Allman Betts Band and vocal duo the River Kittens.

Trucks said there will be a core band onstage and guests will come on for a song or two. Most will play Allman Brothers Band songs, but a few will do their own numbers. She said it's up to Devon Allman to figure out who gets to sing what.

"That onus is all on Devon," she said. "He’s the mastermind behind all of this."

Trucks will also host an afterparty at 1904 Music Hall, around the corner from the Florida Theatre, immediately after the concert. She'll be backed by the Tony Tyler Band out of Southwest Florida. "He’s been my godsend on this particular run," she said. "He’s worrying about the afterparties while I’m worried about the shows themselves."

A few surprise guests might make an appearance onstage at the afterparty, she said. "You never know who’s going to show up."

She's got big plans for 2023. She's leaving her full-time day job and going on the road with the Lee Boys, plus planning shows with Brother & Sister, the Allman Brothers tribute act she started with Vaylor. "I am finally letting go of my corporate life to follow this dream of mine."

Allman Family Revival

8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Florida Theatre

$44.50-$79.50 at floridatheatre.com

7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater

$38.25-$78.25 at rutheckerdhall.com

8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28, at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota

$60-$94 at vanwezel.org

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater

$34-$90

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville's Melody Trucks joining Allmans tribute shows in Florida