Duane Betts Visits Levon Helm Studios With Members of Goose, Little Feat, More
Photo Credit: Kaelan Barowsky
Over the weekend, Duane Betts and Palmetto Motel paid a visit to Woodstock, N.Y.’s famed Levon Helm Studios for an intimate performance at the hallowed venue. With Johnny Stachela on guitar, Pedro Arevalo on bass, Vincent Fossett Jr. on drums and Max Butler on keys supporting Betts, the July 14 offering also boasted sit-ins from esteemed special guests, including Goose percussionist Jeffrey Arevalo, Little Feat guitarist Scott Sharrard and multi-instrumentalist Brian Mitchell.
Betts and company kicked off the set with a rendition of ”Saints To Sinners” that led into “Stare At The Sun,” both from the frontman’s 2023 record Wild & Precious Life. After following up with the 2018 track “Taking Time” and Billy Joe Shaver’s “Honky Tonk Heroes,” Betts called on the memory of his father Dickey Betts for a rendition of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Blue Sky.” For the cover, which has become a setlist staple for the younger Betts in the months since his father’s passing earlier this year, the band welcomed Goose percussionist Jeffrey Arevalo, who joined to perform alongside his brother, Palmetto Motel bassist Pedro Arevalo.
The deep-rooted connections that ran through Betts’ set branched beyond family ties. Betts’ performance of “Blue Sky” recalled a different staging with Little Feat earlier this month, especially as Sharrard–in the wake of a masterful blues record with Little Feat–joined the group with Mitchell for Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man.” The star-studded session also featured “Cold Dark World,” “Rivers Run” and a live debut of “Circles In The Stars” from Palmetto Motel. Following these numbers up with versions of “Colors Fade” and the classic Allman track, “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed,” featuring support from both Arevalo brothers, the group closed out the evening with a triumphant final track, “Waiting On A Song.”
Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel continue their tour tonight, June 17, at Northampton, Mass.’s The Parlor Room. They will then head to Portland, Maine’s Portland House of Music for a show on July 18, followed by an evening at East Greenwich, R.I.’s Greenwich Odeum and a final date on this run the following night, July 20, at The Cut in Gloucester, Mass. For tickets and more information on Betts’ tour, go to https://www.duanebetts.com/tour
