Saturday Handy headliner squeezing Henderson stop in among European performances
Before the summer is out, the headliner on tonight’s Handy bill will have performed in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Italy, France, Belgium and Switzerland.
But first, a Friday night stopover at the Henderson riverfront to demonstrate what two of the South’s most recognized bloodlines — Allman and Neville — can produce when they merge with blues ace Mike Zito into the Royal Southern Brotherhood.
Billing themselves as “amplified soul for the new generation,” the blues-rock band features Cyril Neville and Devon Allman, who as the son of Gregg Allman has rock ‘n’ roll in his DNA.
“The family tree might be auspicious, but this new band trades on talent, not genealogy,” says the band’s bio. “It’s not about rock history. It’s about the here-and-now.”
“One spin around the block with the Royal Southern Brotherhood’s CD was enough for us to say ‘We gotta have them’,” said Handy Music Chairman Dorin Luck. “Each musician in this band complements the others to make the sum of the parts so sublime that we had to weep openly.
“Seriously. Gorgeous three-part harmonies? Check. Great guitar? Check,” Luck added. “This is true alchemy.”
Luck said he is also excited to welcome back The Holmes Brothers to the local stage in the 8 p.m. slot.
The group’s latest CD (produced by Joan Osborne) was born out of group member Wendell Holmes’ successful bout with cancer and is a declaration of “the power and faith of a strong and devoted family.”
