Alicia Keys is a 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer, an accomplished actress, a New York Times best-selling author, an entrepreneur and a powerful force in the world of philanthropy and in the global fight against HIV and AIDS.

On November 4th, 2016, Keys released her powerful and critically-acclaimed new sixth studio album, HERE, on RCA Records. Offering an honest glimpse into what matters most to Keys, the artist shines a light on the sonic soulfulness and stories from New York, the city that raised her. As an accompanying visual story to HERE, Keys also released a short-film entitled “The Gospel” inspired by the genesis of songs written by Alicia Keys.

Keys became a Coach on NBC’s “The Voice” for its 11th season, alongside Miley Cyrus, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton. Keys returned as a Coach on the hit show’s 12th season with Gwen Stefani, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.

As a devoted and influential activist, in September 2014, Keys launched We Are Here, a movement that empowers the global community around a host of issues and initiatives building a better world where all people are heard, respected, equal, and treated with dignity.

Alicia is also the co-founder of Keep a Child Alive (KCA), a non-profit organization that partners with grass-roots organizations to combat the physical, social, and economic impact of HIV on children, their families and their communities in Africa and India.

Keys made her directorial debut for Lifetime’s Five and most recently served as Executive Producer of the critically-acclaimed film The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete. In 2011, she made her producorial debut with Lydia R. Diamond’s play Stick Fly for the Cort Theater, which Keys also composed the original music for.

Keys currently resides in the New York City area with her husband, producer Swizz Beatz, and their children.

Gregg Allman is undoubtedly among rock and roll’s greatest and most influential artists, his soul-fired and still utterly distinctive voice one of the defining sounds in all of American music. From his founding role in the one and only Allman Brothers Band to his long and storied solo career, Allman has proven himself an iconic singer/songwriter and exceptional practitioner of the American blues tradition. The survivor of unimaginable loss, alcohol and drug addictions as well as a successful 2010 liver transplant, Allman has also accrued a remarkable list of honors over his five decade career, including the ABB’s 1995 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Annual GRAMMY® Awards as well as his own 2006 induction to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

Allman was born December 8th, 1947 in Nashville, TN, a little more than a year after his older brother Duane. Raised by single mom Geraldine, the family moved to Daytona Beach in 1959, though the brothers would spend considerable time back in Nashville. Music City was an inspiration to Allman. He attended his first concert – starring Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, B.B. King, and Patti LaBelle – and with the guidance of a neighbor named Jimmy Banes, fell in thrall to the power of a guitar. Nashville’s pull continued long after the family moved, with the brothers both hooked on local radio station WLAC’s legendary late night R&B broadcasts.

Allman earned enough delivering newspapers to afford a Silvertone guitar, which he and his older brother then proceeded to fight over for years. They made their on-stage debut as part of a YMCA youth group in Daytona Beach, uniting their first band – The Misfits – while attending Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, TN. In 1963, the brothers returned to Florida, rocking Seabreeze High School with their next beat combo, The Shufflers.

The Allman brothers were less interested in school than they were in pursuing their own musical education, spending all their cash on records or sitting in with local R&B outfit The Houserockers. They put together what Allman calls his first “real” band, The Escorts, and began gigging around the Daytona Beach area, proving so busy that Gregg skipped his Seabreeze graduation to perform with his band.

Having won over Daytona Beach, the band – now known as The Allman Joys – headed out into the world, beginning with a 22 week run at Mobile, AL’s Stork Club. An extended booking at Pensacola’s Sahara Club proved a milestone for Gregg, his first true lesson in stagecraft as well as where he bought his first keyboard. 1966 saw The Allman Joys travel to Nashville for their first true session, with songwriter John D. Loudermilk producing. The band’s version of “Spoonful” proved enough of a local hit that they returned to the studio with producer/songwriter John Hurley, this time recording a number of Gregg’s increasingly sharp originals.

The Allman Joys eventually made their way west, sponsored in part by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band manager Bill McEuen. Reinventing themselves as Hour Glass, the band signed to Liberty Records and began making a name around L.A. by supporting such stars as Buffalo Springfield and The Doors. Two albums followed, 1967’s HOUR GLASS and 1968’s POWER OF LOVE, the latter highlighted by seven Gregg originals and liner notes by Neil Young, who also sat in on the album’s sessions. Hour Glass then traveled to Rick Hall’s FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, hoping to finally capture their evolving blues rock sound. Unfortunately Liberty Records did not appreciate the band’s new direction and Hour Glass split soon after the sessions.

The brothers returned to Florida where they began collaborating with The 31st of February, a Jacksonville trio whose ranks included drummer Butch Trucks. Gregg soon headed back to Los Angeles, recording a solo album to fulfill both his and Duane’s remaining Liberty contract. Though the sessions ultimately proved fruitless, Gregg spent considerable studio time writing songs and working with his new favorite instrument, the Hammond organ. Meanwhile, Brother Duane had returned to Muscle Shoals where he became FAME Studios’ lead session guitarist, recording legendary tracks with such giants as King Curtis, Arthur Conley, Clarence Carter, and Wilson Pickett. Soon signed to a deal of his own, Duane began enlisting musicians including drummer/percussionist Jai Johanny Johanson and fellow Floridian, bassist Berry Oakley. They returned to Jacksonville, their extended jams luring in additional members including Trucks and Oakley’s former bandmate, guitarist Dickey Betts. Gregg finally returned to Florida and on March 26, 1969, Duane suggested he join the group for a run through Muddy Waters’ “Trouble No More,” encouraging his younger brother to “sing his guts out.” The Allman Brothers Band was born.

Signed to Phil Walden’s new Capricorn Records label, the Allman Brothers Band virtually invented Southern Rock, blending blues, boogie, country, psychedelia, R&B, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll into their own idiosyncratic musical stew. The band relocated to Macon, GA where they began forging the intuitive musical bond that came to define them, spending infinite hours rehearsing and jamming while also growing a local following for their improvisational ingenuity and creative interplay. Elongated covers were paired with Gregg’s original songs, his songwriting voice fast proving as unique and inspired as his growing vocal power. Songs like “It’s Not My Cross To Bear,” “Dreams,” and “Whipping Post” exposed a gifted and evocative tunesmith, remarkably adept at reconstructing traditional forms into modern classics.

Released in November 1969, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND was immediately acclaimed if not an immediate commercial success. The band spent the next year on the road nearly non-stop, performing over 300 gigs across the country while also visiting studios in New York, Miami, and Macon to record what would be their second studio album. IDLEWILD SOUTH arrived in September 1970, less than a year after the band’s debut. Recently named by Rolling Stone as one of the “40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time,” IDLEWILD SOUTH is home to one of Allman’s defining songs, “Midnight Rider,” an immediate FM radio favorite later covered by artists spanning Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Theory of a Deadman, UB40, and reggae singer Paul Davidson.

Having earned a reputation as a spectacularly inventive and expansive live act, The Allman Brothers Band decided to showcase their on-stage strength with their third album, the legendary AT FILLMORE EAST. Produced by Tom Dowd over the course of two March 1971 shows at New York City’s Fillmore East, the double LP proved the Allmans’ world-changing breakthrough, seven songs over four sides culminating with a extraordinarily epic rendition of “Whipping Post.” AT FILLMORE EAST was a phenomenon, earning RIAA gold within months of its July 1971 release. Now platinum certified, the album is a universally acknowledged milestone, a landmark American work selected in 2004 for preservation in the Library of Congress, deemed to be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States” by the National Recording Registry.

Tragedy struck on October 29, 1971 with the death of Duane Allman in a motorcycle crash. He was 24 years old. The Allman Brothers Band mourned his loss and then celebrated his accomplishments by returning to both the road and the studio, releasing EAT A PEACH in February 1972. Their most successful album thus far, the double LP collected a number of studio recordings – both with and without Duane – as well as additional cuts from the 1971 Fillmore East performances. Highlights include the towering “Mountain Jam” as well as Gregg’s “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” – penned in the wake of Duane’s passing – and the classic “Melissa,” written in 1967 and beloved by Duane as his little brother’s best song.

In March 1972, Gregg tracked a series of songs at Macon’s Capricorn Studios with the goal of recording a solo album. Sessions continued, even as the Allman Brothers Band began work on its highly anticipated third studio album, BROTHERS AND SISTERS. Allman released LAID BACK in October 1973, kicking off the collection with a new version of “Midnight Rider” that proved a top 20 hit across North America. Allman commemorated the album’s release with an unprecedented concert tour accompanied by a full string section comprising members of the New York Philharmonic, captured for posterity on 1974’s THE GREGG ALLMAN TOUR. LAID BACK was both a commercial and critical success, earning RIAA gold amidst widespread acclaim.

Fate reared its head once again in November 1972 when Berry Oakley was killed in a motorcycle accident just three blocks from where Duane had lost his life little more than a year earlier. He too was 24 years old. The Allman Brothers Band carried on, finishing BROTHERS AND SISTERS in December before returning to the road. The album proved the band’s most popular yet, topping the overall Billboard album chart for five consecutive weeks on its way to worldwide sales now in excess of 7 million.

The Allman Brothers Band took to the road once more, confirming their place as one of the most successful live outfits in rock ‘n’ roll history, consistently selling out arenas and stadiums across the country. July 1973 saw the ABB headline the historic “Summer Jam at Watkins Glen,” teaming with the Grateful Dead and the Band at New York’s Watkins Glen Grand Motor Raceway before a record-breaking crowd well in excess of 600,000.

The band went on hiatus in 1976, not before lending their support to fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. Allman quickly founded The Gregg Allman Band, releasing PLAYIN’ UP A STORM in May 1977 to acclaim and chart success. The Allman Brothers Band made a brief return in 1978 but by January 1982, decided to hang up their boots once again. Though the ABB had called it a day, Allman himself spent virtually all of the next few years on the road, performing anywhere, anytime, from small clubs to larger venues across the country. February 1987 saw the release of I’M NO ANGEL – the first album from The Gregg Allman Band in a decade. The album immediately returned Allman to the forefront of American popular music, boasting a pair of indelible hits in the chart-topping title track and the top 3 rock radio smash, “Anything Goes.” JUST BEFORE THE BULLETS FLY followed in 1988, its title track co-written by future ABB guitarist Warren Haynes.

The Allman Brothers Band celebrated its 20th anniversary by reuniting in 1989, the four surviving founders now joined by new players including the aforementioned Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody. The group hit the road, including a series of fall dates at New York City’s historic Beacon Theatre, a preview of what would become one of rock ‘n roll’s greatest traditions.

Fully revitalized, the Allman Brothers Band returned to the studio, teaming with longtime producer Tom Dowd for 1990’s SEVEN TURNS and its #1 hit single, “Good Clean Fun.” The addition of percussionist Marc Quinones that same year finally brought to life the triple percussion ensemble Duane had envisioned when first uniting the band. The ABB’s rhythmic expansion fueled 1991’s acclaimed tenth studio album, SHADES OF TWO WORLDS, recorded with Dowd at Memphis’ famed Ardent Studios.

The Brothers’ 1992 spring itinerary saw the band settle into the landmark Beacon Theatre for an extended 10-night run. Specifically selected for being closest in spirit to Bill Graham’s long gone Fillmore East, the beloved Upper West Side venue became a second home for the band, with runs continuing semi-annually through 2014. A series of acclaimed releases followed through the next decade, including 1994’s WHERE IT ALL BEGINS and such live albums as AN EVENING WITH THE ALLMAN BROTHERS: FIRST SET, showcasing 1992’s Beacon Theatre run, and 1995’s GRAMMY® Award-winning AN EVENING WITH THE ALLMAN BROTHERS: 2ND SET.

Allman also found time in the Nineties to try his hand at acting, with notable performances in 1991’s RUSH and HBO’S TALES FROM THE CRYPT. His own extraordinary solo discography grew with 1997’s SEARCHING FOR SIMPLICITY, highlighted by an unplugged rendition of “Whipping Post.” The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, honoring their extraordinary history and lasting influence. The group underwent a number of personnel changes in subsequent years, but by 2001 had coalesced into what was hailed as one of the strongest line-ups in ABB history, with Allman, Haynes, Johanson, Quiñones, and Trucks joined by bassist Oteil Burbridge and lead guitarist Derek Trucks. Released in 2003, the Allman Brothers Band’s twelfth and final studio recording, HITTIN’ THE NOTE, drew critical applause as well as a pair of GRAMMY® Award nominations. That same year’s LIVE AT THE BEACON THEATRE DVD also proved a classic, earning RIAA platinum certification and rave reviews for capturing the band at the peak of their on-stage powers. The 2003 Beacon run was further documented on ONE WAY OUT, hailed by rock critic Robert Christgau as “the best live album of (the ABB’s) career.”

The Allman Brothers Band celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009 with a star-studded Beacon Theatre residency that saw appearances from such friends and luminaries as Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, Eric Clapton, Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell, Buddy Guy, Levon Helm, Robert Randolph, Bruce Hornsby, Billy Gibbons, and Sheryl Crow. Allman underwent a liver transplant the following year, returning stronger than ever with 2011’s masterful solo landmark, LOW COUNTRY BLUES. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Top Blues Albums” chart, ascending to #5 on the overall SoundScan/Billboard 200 as it drew unanimous critical acclaim around the world.

Allman detailed his brilliant career in 2012’s acclaimed memoir, My Cross To Bear. Now available in both hardcover and paperback, the New York Times best seller chronicles a truly astonishing life and creative journey, all informed by wisdom, hindsight, and experience. The Allman Brothers Band officially resumed active duty in 2012 with two sets at their own Peach Music Festival in Scranton, PA, now an ongoing summer tradition highlighted by annual sets from Allman and other ABB friends. The Allman Brothers Band wrapped up their storied forty-five year career in 2014 with their final Beacon Theatre run, culminating October 28th with a now legendary three-set marathon, their 238th consecutive sell out at the estimable venue.

That same year saw Allman honored by an array of fellow artists at “All My Friends: Celebrating the Songs & Voice of Gregg Allman,” a once-in-a-lifetime concert held at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and later released on CD/DVD to great acclaim. Allman himself followed the Allman Brothers Band’s final bow with the 2015 release of “BACK TO MACON GA,” a live two disc CD/DVD set capturing Allman and his eight-member band blowing the roof off Macon, GA’s venerable Grand Opera House. August 2015 saw Allman innovate the summer concert experience with the first ever Laid Back Festival, a one-day event held at Wantagh, NY’s Nikon at Jones Beach Theater and presented in partnership by Allman, longtime manager Michael Lehman, and Live Nation. Named after Allman’s classic 1973 solo debut, the Laid Back Festival celebrated America’s rich musical heritage with performances from Allman, The Doobie Brothers, Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, and more. Hailed as a new milestone on the increasingly busy summer concert circuit, Laid Back Festival also showcased Long Island, NY’s diverse and delicious food and drink, with regional restaurants, food trucks, breweries, wineries, and other artisans represented at the festival. 2016 proved an extraordinarily eventful year for Allman, kicking off with sold out winter and spring tours as well as his acceptance of an honorary doctorate from Macon, GA’s Mercer University, presented by longtime friend, former President Jimmy Carter. The Laid Back Festival also expanded to include regionally focused shows in five American cities. Once again headlined and curated by Allman, the traveling one-day event boasted a diverse lineup that featured such superstars as ZZ Top, Peter Frampton, and Jason Isbell, not to mention a mouth-watering menu of local food and drink.

As if their non-stop live schedule weren’t enough, Allman and his band also hit FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL to work on a new solo album, SOUTHERN BLOOD. Produced by GRAMMY® Award-winner Don Was, the album will arrive in September of 2016. Gregg Allman died due to complications from liver cancer at his home in Savannah, GA on May 17, 2017. He played his last show October 29, 2016 at his own Laidback Festival in Atlanta, Ga. Gregg’s legacy will undoubtedly live on in his music. Beyond dozens of studio and live recordings, Gregg passed on the opportunity of music to others in two scholarship funds. The Gregg Allman Scholarship Fund at the University of Georgia and the Allman / Lehman Endowed Scholarship at Syracuse University. In 2005 The Allman Brothers Band established the Wanee Music Festival and in 2012, the Peach Festival. Both continue to provide the experience of live music that Gregg lived for.

Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the last band member to quit, prior to the band’s farewell tour in May and June 2018. The band’s name is a reference to the biblical accounts of Jesus’ rising from the dead on the third day following his crucifixion. The band was inducted in the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on September 19, 2009. They have sold over 7 million albums in the United States and had 28 number one Christian album chart radio hits.Their fans are known as “Gomers” after a song on their second album about Gomer.

Pacific Northwest native Trent Beaver has a heart straight out of the south. By mixing his country upbringing with his love for west coast rock, Trent has managed to create a sound truly one of a kind. Weather it’s the power in his voice or the soulful lyrics, the combination demands attention when in a crowded room. A “True Troubadour” only scratches the surface of describing this unique artist.

If you haven’t yet heard of Arkansas Dave, you’re in for a treat. The critically acclaimed Austin musician–whose impressive work has already taken him from Switzerland to Nashville and all over the U.K.–will return to Nashville in September for the annual Americanafest. The annual music fest, which The New York Times calls “the coolest music scene today” is a celebration of folk, country, blues and soul. This year’s festival will take place from September 11-16 in Nashville, Tennessee, with a five-day program replete with panels and performances. From the brightest minds and brightest stars in the music industry. Fittingly, Americana’s all-star lineup includes Arkansas Dave.

A former drummer for Guitar Shorty & The Hard Pans, Dave triumphed over a lifetime of hardships to get on the stage at Americana. Born in Little Rock and raised in Camden, Arkansas, the multi-instrumentalist was reared in a house divided by fundamental Christianity and crippling drug abuse. He migrated from Arkansas with nothing but his love for music, and started surviving on side jobs here and there while honing his craft wherever he could. He eventually found his way to Austin, where he enrolled at the Media Tech school and plied his trade in the same studio where Willie Nelson and Neil Young cut records. A series of bands followed, including a stint on tour with Guitar Shorty. Dave developed a following in Austin, and parlayed that local fame into his first record.

Written in 2016 and released this year, Arkansas Dave’s self-titled debut album is the story of his life–in the form of a searing and unforgettable blues rock epic. Pop Dose hailed the record as “nothing but pure goodness,” and Dave isn’t the only one who deserves credit. To add even more flair and style to an already blistering blues record, Dave brought in the Swampers, the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

“Taking this record on the road means the world to me,” Dave says. “ It’s all I’ve ever dreamt of”. But don’t expect the newfound fame to get to Dave’s head. The road ahead may be smoother than what’s behind him, but it’s a road that’s yet to be traveled; a road Dave will pave through Nashville with his grit, determination and sheer musical talent.

“I still have a lot of work, and the road never ends; I’m just glad I’m able to travel that road and do what I love to do”.

Bishop Gunn of Natchez, Mississippi, is rooted in the history and sounds of their home and the surrounding Delta, and features a blend of rock and roll, soul and blues.
In 2017, the band appeared on Kid Rock’s 8th Annual “Chillin’ the Most Cruise” and was voted the best band on the boat by the “chillers.” The group went on to do commercial film for Southern Comfort in Clarksdale, Mississippi and spend their summer touring. In September, Bishop Gunn took the stage at the Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin, Tennessee alongside artists like Justin Timberlake, Eddie Vedder, Mavis Staples and Gary Clark Jr. The band then played Laid Back Festival dates with Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Jimmie Vaughan, The Gregg Allman Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Bishop Gunn released their debut full-length album Natchez in May 2018. They worked on the release with Grammy Award-winning producers Casey Wasner and Mark Neill at legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and FAME Studios, as well as The Purple House in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee where the band lives and creates in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Nashville. The album, named after the band’s hometown, entered the Billboard charts as the #4 Blues Album and also appeared as #8 on their Heatseekers South Central chart. Rolling Stone Country featured the band among their “Artists You Need to Know,” asserting “anyone can cite the Muscle Shoals sound as an influence, but few acts can actually pull off making music worthy of such a claim. Nashville band Bishop Gunn is one of those acts…The resulting music is the perfect blend of Nashville and the Shoals, and is the rare album that builds upon its influences rather than resorting to outright mimicry.”

Prior to the release of Natchez, the band was featured at SXSW, played support dates for Blackberry Smoke and was invited for a return appearance on Kid Rock’s 9th Annual “Chillin’ the Most Cruise.” They then spent the rest of 2018 touring in support of the album, including performances at The Peach Fest and The Big House Museum, as well as support dates for The Marcus King Band, Whiskey Myers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Outlaws, and Black Stone Cherry. They look forward to kicking off 2019 performing on the Southern Rock Cruise and embarking on a European tour which includes support dates with Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.

Michael Cameron Anderson known professionally as Anderson East, is an American R&B musician from Athens, Alabama, who currently is based in Nashville, Tennessee. His song “Satisfy Me” was released in March 2015 and received consistent radio airplay. His major-label record debut, Delilah, was released on the Low Country Sound, an imprint Elektra in July 2015. In the beginning stages of his career, East opened for Holly Williams and ended up playing guitar and singing harmonies with her. At the same time, he worked as a session musician as well as a recording engineer to provide a way to make ends meet.

East began his musical career in 2009, self-releasing an album titled Closing Credits for a Fire under the name Mike Anderson. He then began recording under the name Anderson East with the release of an EP titled Fire Demos. East’s self-released debut album, Flowers of the Broken Hearted in 2012, was made up of two records: one record which he recorded in Los Angeles with producer Chris Seefried and session players Charlie Gillingham, Don Heffington and Rob Wasserman, and a second recorded in Nashville with Tim Brennan and Daniel Scobey. The record is 15 songs long, and is made up of two CDs each with their own music genre: The White disc is made up of a progressive soul and Americana vibe, while the Red disc is darker and has more of a rock sound. He funded the record as a PledgeMusic project, with a percentage of the proceeds going to Water Aid, a nonprofit organization that brings water to communities that do not have clean drinking water.

East’s major label debut album, Delilah, was released by Low Country Sound, an imprint of Elektra in July 2015. It was produced by Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton) and features a song by George Jackson recorded at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In 2017, East appeared on the Fifty Shades Darker Soundtrack, performing the track “What Would It Take” which he co-wrote with Aaron Raitere. This particular soundtrack debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. East also covered Brandi Carlile’s song “Josephine” to be included for her charity album Cover Stories.

On August 15, 2017, East released the first single from his upcoming album Encore, “All On My Mind”, which he subsequently performed on October 13, 2017, in an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

SCOTT SHARRARD IS BEST KNOWN as lead guitarist and bandleader for the late Gregg Allman. But his personal artistic journey – which includes singing, songwriting, producing and arranging – began long before he first teamed up with the rock icon. It’s a mission that resumes with “Saving Grace,” Sharrard’s fifth album — and his first since Allman’s death. “Saving Grace,” with the blues at its core, bears a distinctly southern spirit, seamlessly assimilating the sounds of American roots music that Sharrard has long embraced. Sessions took place in Memphis and at the historic FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Half the album employs the Hi Rhythm Section, the other The Swampers of Muscle Shoals. Sharrard’s travels to the heart of the American South began in the Upper Midwest. He was born in Michigan on December 28, 1976 – the day his hero Freddie King died – and spent his formative years in Milwaukee, where he was a club fixture long before he could legally take a drink. Then came a chance 1996 move to New York City. The 20-year-old Sharrard, eager to bolt Milwaukee, had his mind on New Orleans. But his friend Sean Dixon, with whom he had a band called The Chesterfields, had found a rent-controlled apartment in the East Village.

Sharrard had been in the Big Apple but a year when he met iconic Atlantic Records executive Ahmet Ertegun, who mentored The Chesterfields and gave the young guitar-slinger some sage advice. The Chesterfields cut three albums and toured nationally before Sharrard began to chart his own course. A series of releases followed, including “Dawnbreaker” (2005), “Analog/Monolog” (2008) and “Ante Up” (2009). Ertegun wasn’t the only legend with Sharrard on his radar back then: The young guitarist also forged a relationship with Levon Helm – performing with The Band drummer about a dozen times, including his final gig just before his death in April of 2012. Sharrard remains close with Helm’s daughter, Amy, and a host of other artists on the Woodstock scene. It was through Amy’s then-husband, multi-instrumentalist Jay Collins – already a member of Allman’s band – that Sharrard embarked on the collaboration of a lifetime. In the fall of 2008, Sharrard began a nearly decade-long run with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Sharrard joined the Gregg Allman Band as a touring guitarist and later became Musical Director. The fruitful partnership ended with the 69-year-old Allman’s death on May 27, 2017. But not before Allman covered Sharrard’s “Love Like Kerosene” on 2015’s “Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon, GA,” and again on Allman’s eighth and final solo album, the posthumous, GRAMMY-nominated “Southern Blood” (Rounder Records, 2017). Another “Southern Blood” track, the unforgettable farewell “My Only True Friend” – co-written by Sharrard and Allman – earned a GRAMMY nomination for Americana Song of the Year.

Sharrard’s deep respect for Allman factored heavily into the 2018 release date for “Saving Grace.” Tracking was completed in December of 2016. But Sharrard – knowing Allman’s health was failing and that “Southern Blood” would be his last hurrah – chose to delay its unveiling. He’s now begun a new chapter with an album he consciously wanted to summarize the last 20 years of his work – and one that showcases the totality of his artistry: as guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, arranger and bandleader.

Hailed as “gospel titans” by Rolling Stone, the Blind Boys first rose to fame in the segregated south with their thrilling vocal harmonies and roof-raising live show. They released their debut single, “I Can See Everybody’s Mother But Mine,” on the iconic Veejay label in 1948, launching a 70-year recording career that would see them rack up five GRAMMY Awards (plus one for Lifetime Achievement), enter the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, collaborate with everyone from Mavis Staples and Stevie Wonder to Prince and Lou Reed, and perform on the world’s most prestigious stages. It would be difficult to overstate the Blind Boys’ influence on their contemporaries and the generations that came after. The New York Times said that they “came to epitomize what is known as jubilee singing, a livelier breed of gospel music,” adding that “they made it zestier still by adding jazz and blues idioms and turning up the volume, creating a sound…like the rock ‘n’ roll that grew out of it.” TIME Magazine raved that “they’re always hunting for – and finding – the perfect note or harmony that lifts an old tune into the sublime,” while The Washington Post praised their “soul-stirring harmonies” and “range of cross-genre collaborations,” and The New Yorker simply called them “legendary”.

“When the Blind Boys started out, we weren’t even thinking about all these accolades and all that stuff,” founding member Jimmy Carter told NPR. “We just wanted to get out and sing gospel and tell the world about gospel music.” Mission accomplished!

The son of a preacher man, Mississippi-raised Thorn spent much of his childhood in church, participating in multiple weekly services with his father as well as at neighboring African American congregations, where he became entranced with the music whose infectious spirit is captured on the new album.

Don’t Let the Devil Ride collects soulful songs originally cut by black southern gospel groups and features guests the Blind Boys of Alabama, The McCrary Sisters, the Preservation Hall Jazz Horns, and Bonnie Bishop.

The album was recorded at three temples of sound: the Sam C. Phillips Recording studio, whose namesake gave another son of Tupelo his start; at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, where Thorn worked as a songwriter for legendary producer Rick Hall early in his career; and at Preservation Hall, where horn players from the celebrated jazz venue lent songs a New Orleans vibe. The new release marks Thorn’s first time recording gospel music after a dozen albums in roots-rock mode, though his upbringing has previously been reflected in his creation of a body of strikingly original songs. In his own songwriting, Thorn often addresses the foibles of human relationships, although he doesn’t favor the sacred over the profane.

As an accomplished painter, former professional boxer, and seasoned skydiver, Thorn has never shied away from new challenges, but cutting a gospel record was just like going home. Thorn soon met his longtime songwriting partner Billy Maddox, who had strong ties to the musical hub of Muscle Shoals. The duo began writing under contract for Rick Hall, owner of the legendary Fame Recording Studios, where Thorn cut demos of their songs.

As a performer, Thorn was playing solo gigs in Tupelo for $50 a night and further supplemented his factory income with boxing. He learned to box from his paternal uncle Merle, a one-time pimp celebrated in “Pimps and Preachers,” Thorn’s autobiographical song about his two mentors.

The songs on Don’t Let the Devil Ride, co-produced by Billy Maddox and Colin Linden, likewise fall into that same comfort zone. The other songs stretch back much farther, but their themes – of redemption, taking stock of one’s life, and resilience in the face of troubles – are universal, making them readily adaptable to the fresh takes here. Nashville’s McCrary Sisters, for instance, lend a buoyant feel to “You Got to Move,” a northeast Mississippi standard, best known through a solemn slide guitar take by Mississippi Fred McDowell.

The sisters’ father was a founder of the Fairfield Four, a capella gospel singers whose live radio broadcasts on CBS in the ’40s and ’50s were extremely influential. Fellow guest artists the Blind Boys of Alabama, founded in 1944, were founders of the “hard gospel” quartet style that dominated the era from which many of the songs on this record where drawn. Also joining Thorn on vocals is Texas-born Bonnie Bishop, who attributes her soulful singing style to spending her formative years in Mississippi. Both Maddox and Thorn were longtime friends with Hall and the Phillips family, and Maddox says that recording in Memphis and Muscle Shoals was a natural extension of the whole process and the only proper way to honor this particular body of work.