Jam For Duane

The Jam For Duane is the brainchild of Brent Sibley. He's been jammin' in Duane Allman's honor for many years, but in 2001 in Alabama, the Jam was given its name and this year, 2007, will mark the 7th official Annual Jam For Duane.The 1st Annual Jam For Duane was held in a small historical building in Oneonta, AL. It attracted about 50 people, many from neighboring states, and one, Tommy Booth, drove all the way from NY City. At 50 we thought it was a roaring success. Little did we know what was to come....By year 3 it was apparent early on that the Rail Road Depot in Oneonta was no longer sufficient with the amount of interest we were generating. Randy Stephens piqued the interest of some of the City Fathers of Gadsden, AL, and they went way out of their way to help us make #3 something really special. We set up at the Convention Center where we had a huge stage and room for 1,500 or so. While we didn't fill the place to capacity, we drew a large crowd. Two bands came from Florida and we attracted our first taste of "star-power" in the person(s) of Scott Boyer from the Capricorn band, "Cowboy," and his son, who played a really cool 5-song-set and then hung around for the open jam and both of them also sat in on different songs with Brent's band, "The Skydogs."The following year Scott was joined by another Capricorn artist, Jimmy Hall. By Year 4 The Jam For Duane had become a 4-day event. Jimmy Hall and The Prisoners of Love, with Jack Pearson on guitar, played a couple of gigs at local clubs in the days before the Jam, and Jimmy stuck around long enough to jam with Brent and Lefty Collins and some of the members from their respective bands.Year 5 marked the first participation of the newly-formed band, The Capricorn Rhythm Section, which is comprised of Scott Boyer, Johnny Sandlin, Tommy Talton, Bill Stewart and Paul Hornsby, all of them being contemporaries of Duane Allman back in the day, and all of them having played with him in one project or another. Lee Roy Parnell was their special guest that year and played their whole set with them. Of course the Skydogs and Lefty Collins and The No Mercy Band also tore it up with blazing sets, and the jam session for the last hour or so of the night was one for the record books!Year 6 was much like Year 5, only CRS had a year's worth of touring and a new CD under their belt. More gigs in town in the days preceding the Jam for the out-of-town bands that made it, great attendance, a stellar vibe as always, and everybody ready and willing to tell a personal story about their time with Duane or their favorite licks of his or their favorite performance, writing or radio interview. We anticipate Year 7 being more of the same.The Jam For Duane is a ton of work to pull off, especially for Brent, but it is truly a labor of love. If you're a fan of Duane Allman's, you have to make it! It's free and Brent is committed to keeping it that way. Come help us celebrate the life and music of the greatest guitarist and band-leader who ever lived, Howard Duane Allman!