Music lovers who know that the blues is a feelin’ fill up the Celebrity Theater inside Atlantic City, NJ’s Claridge Hotel this Wednesday, August 20, 2025 evening in preparation for a free Mardi Gras AC concert by Devon Allman’s Blues Summit featuring The Devon Allman Project, Wet Willie vocalist Jimmy Hall, guitarist Larry McCray, and singer Sierra Green.
Mardi Gras AC concert producer Carmen Marotta welcomes the crowd announcing, “There are so many great performers and so many different performers, we’re just gonna have a party here tonight!” before introducing tonight’s opening act, Ghalia Volt.
Opening with the bluesy “Reap What You Sow,” Volt — a one-woman band — sings with soul as she simultaneously plays slide guitar with her hands and a drum kit with her feet before performing her original slow funk blues tune, “Meet Me In Your Dreams.”
Volt has the audience echo-sing with her on the upbeat blues number, “Talk to Me Baby,” and follows up with the slow and mournful blues tune, “You Got to Move.”
Finally, after singing in both Spanish and English on the upbeat blues number with a Latin feel, “Espiritu Papago,” Volt wraps up her set with her original story song, “No Happy Home,” a rockabilly tune which has her singing with feeling to avid audience cheers and applause.
Following a short intermission, Marotta exclaims, “This is music royalty here tonight!” as he introduces Devon Allman and the Blues Summit. Concertgoers cheer as guitarist Jackson Stokes, keyboardist John Ginty, bassist Nate Gilbert, drummer John Lum, and saxophonist/percussionist David Gomez take the stage along with singer/guitarist Devon Allman.
Opening with “After You,” Allman vocalizes in his soulful baritone voice, “She got that charm that knocks ’em all out/She got all the right moves,” backed by the Project musicians on this Southern rock tune. As the band continues to play, he introduces Jimmy Hall, who adds a bluesy harmonica solo to the mix and Sierra Green who sings counterpoint to Allman’s lead and the crowd responds with enthusiastic hoots and hollers.
Jimmy Hall sings lead on the funky blues rocker, “Blues is a Feelin’,” where Jackson Stokes is featured playing a twangy guitar solo.
Allman introduces guitarist Larry McCray who renders a tasty blues solo before Green and Hall duel vocally and Stokes and McCray duel on guitars in front of the cheering crowd.
Music lovers stand and dance to The Allman Brothers Band’s “One Way Out,” where Allman and Green switch off singing lead. Stokes is featured on guitar, John Ginty contributes a swirling organ solo, McCray plays a bluesy and rhythmic guitar solo, and David Gomez adds his soulful sax to the mix before all three guitarists — Allman, Stokes, and McCray — rock out together as the audience erupts in applause.
Allman says, “New Jersey, how we feeling? Welcome to the Blues Summit!” and a fan calls out, “We love you, Jimmy!” to which Hall responds, “We love you — I do, we all do!”
Concertgoers clap along to the easy groove of “Wang Dang Doodle” where Hall cries, “We gon’ pitch a wang dang doodle all night long.”
Heads bop to the groove of this two-step blues number as Hall and Allman play call-and-response style on harmonica and guitar before McCray quickly strums out a twangy guitar solo and Allman makes his guitar sing on a soft and melodic solo which elicits cheers from the crowd.
Allman exclaims, “We’re feeling pretty good tonight!” and thanks the audience for “supporting real music made by human beings — not by computers and robots and AI.” Here, he introduces Sierra Green, whose voice cries out with soul on “Real Love.”
Backed by Ginty’s swirling organ, tight percussion from John Lum, and solid bass playing from Nate Gilbert, Allman contributes a guitar solo and David Gomez is featured on a soulful sax solo on this bluesy ballad which garners avid applause from the crowd.
Allman talks about being part of the recent Experience Hendrix tour as a prelude to performing Hendrix’s “Little Wing” where his smoky vocal calls out before he comes downstage and solos with flair.
Switching over to acoustic guitar, Allman performs The Allman Brothers’ “Sweet Melissa” where he announces, “Sounding pretty good tonight, Atlantic City,” as audience members join in singing before Stokes impresses with an electric guitar solo to audience hoots and hollers.
Allman leaves the stage to guitarist Larry McCray who is featured on The Allman Brothers’ slow southern rocker, “Soulshine.”
In his soulful voice, McCray cries, “Soulshine is better than sunshine/Better than moonshine/Sure better than rain,” with the crowd happily joining in singing with him.
Jimmy Hall retakes the stage as McCray launches into the funky “Hands and Knees” where Hall plays harmonica and McCray and Stokes duel on guitars.
Hall and McCray exit the stage and Allman returns to introduce Sierra Green who does a stellar job performing Gregg Allman’s “Please Call Home.” Bending notes on this soulful ballad, Green cries, “When you call out to me I’ll come running straight to your side,” and Allman renders a screaming guitar solo.
The crowd cheers and Allman welcomes back Hall, McCray, and Ghalia Volt to the stage. Here, Hall kicks off a sparkling rendition of his 1974 Top 40 hit with Wet Willie, “Keep On Smilin’.” Hall sings with gusto as he moves about the stage backed by the ensemble on the catchy “Keep on smilin’ through the rain/Laughing at the pain” refrain prior to rendering a soulful harmonica solo.
He concludes the song by echo-singing with the audience on the tune’s “Keep on smilin’ (smilin’)/Smilin’ (smilin’)/Laughin’ (laughin’)/Laughin’ (laughin’) coda.
After Allman introduces his musical colleagues, Hall exclaims, “Let’s all get together and bring peace to the world!” as he and the band perform B.B. King’s “Peace to the World.” While Hall sings, Gomez wails on sax, Ginty’s organ cries, and Allman, Volt, and Stokes rock out on guitars.
Music lovers dance to the rhythm before responding with a standing ovation and Allman exclaims, “Thank you for a great evening!”
The musicians exit the stage but Devon soon returns with his backup band for an encore of “Runners in the Night” where the crowd stands and claps to the beat of this funky rocker which has Allman soloing with feeling.
Concertgoers hoot and holler and Allman announces, “We’re gonna bring everybody out for one more — what do you say?” The audience responds in the affirmative and Allman exclaims, “Every time we come to Jersey, you guys bring it!” as he and the ensemble gallop into The Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider.” The entire Celebrity theater vibrates with energy as the crowd enthusiastically sings along with the ensemble on the tune’s “But I’m not gonna let him catch me, no/Not gonna let him catch the midnight rider” coda.
“Peace and love, Atlantic City, peace and love!” exclaims Allman as the crowd stands and cheers before he concludes by announcing, “We’ll see you next time! Thanks for a great evening! Good night!”
To learn more about The Devon Allman Project, please go to devonallmanproject.com. For information on future free Mardi Gras AC concerts on the Atlantic City Boardwalk at Kennedy Plaza — including The Cowsills and The Weeklings on September 3— please navigate to tonymart.com.
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