Music fans hurry sundown this Monday, August 10, 2026 evening in Ocean City, NJ as they make their way down the Boardwalk to the Ocean City Music Pier for a concert of Southern rock by the Tampa, FL band, The Outlaws.
Inside the historic Music Pier auditorium, concertgoers applaud as the musicians of tonight’s opening act, Duane Betts and Palmetto Hotel, take the stage. The group, starring Duane Betts — the son of Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts — also features Johnny Stachela on guitar, Max Butler on keyboards, Pedro Arevalo on bass, and Vincent Fossett, Jr. on drums.
Opening with the bluesy rocker, “Down to Houston,” Betts’ twangy vocal rings out as he sings, “Comin′ down the mountain/River runnin’ slow/My mind is racing/I know where I must go,” prior to soloing with style on his guitar.
Betts’ vocal is plaintive and compelling on the ballad, “Best Wishes,” where Johnny Stachela plays a slide guitar solo and Betts and Stachela duel on their instruments under colored lights.
Concertgoers cheer and Betts declares, “Good to be here on a beautiful Monday evening!” prior to adding, “We’re gonna play another song from the new record, Isle of Hope.” Here, Betts sings lead and keyboardist Max Butler sings harmony on the slow country-rocker, “Reckless.” Then, Vincent Fossett, Jr.’s drumsticks click off “Taking Time,” a Southern rocker which features a barrelhouse piano solo from Butler.
“Heartache” is a sad and moody ballad which has Betts singing with emotion, “I watch the ocean calm/The storms are moving on/I see, it’s time to leave/Nothing I can do,” before executing a soulful guitar solo.
Fans of The Allman Brothers cheer when they recognize the intro to Dickey Betts’ “Blue Sky.” Concertgoers sing along on the tune’s famous “You’re my blue sky/You’re my sunny day” refrain and Betts, Stachela, and bassist Pedro Arevalo create soaring waves of sound with their instruments which elicit a standing ovation from the crowd.
Betts and Co. conclude tonight’s set with “Keep My Hands Clean,” an upbeat country rocker which features Betts’ strong vocal, Stachela’s guitar fills, and Fossett, Jr.’s steady beat.
The crowd whistles and cheers and Betts responds, “Thank you very much!” as he and the band wave goodnight and exit the stage.
Following a short intermission, The Outlaws — featuring guitarists Henry Paul Sr., Jimmy Dormire, Jim Aulich, and Henry Paul, Jr.; keyboardist Dave Robbins; bassist Randy Threet; and drummer Mike Bailey — take the stage to a recording of Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
Opening with a snippet of “Tomorrow’s Another Night” the group sings in harmony, “Tomorrow’s another night/Maybe the light will shine on me,” before segueing into a rockin’ rendition of “Gunsmoke” where founding member Henry Paul, Sr. strums his guitar after crooning, “There’s a shadow on my life/That’s colder than the night/A chilling silence in the air/To fuel this dream of light.”
Henry Paul, Jr., Jim Aulich, and Jimmy Dormire each contribute guitar solos before the group segues into the country-rocker, “Hurry Sundown,” where Aulich cries, “Gypsies dance around the campfire/Shook their tambourines/They were waiting for the dust of an outlaw/Sundown was his name,” on this story song which has The Outlaws “Florida Guitar Army” coming downstage to play.
Paul, Sr. sings lead on the Southern rocker, “Freeborn Man,” before the arrangement shifts into a country swing feel where Dave Robbins renders a swirling organ solo and Jimmy Dormire soulfully bends notes on his guitar.
A winding intro leads into “Stick Around for Rock and Roll” where six-part harmonies ring out as the group cries, “Why don’t you stick around/For some rock and roll?” before all of the guitarists are featured on this raging rocker.
The crowd cheers and Paul, Sr. responds, “Good to see you guys tonight! It’s nice to be back in New Jersey down by the shore!” After Henry, Sr. introduces his son, “Little Henry,” Paul, Jr. handles the lead vocal on “Born to Be Bad” where Dormire plays slide guitar as lights sweep across the stage on this biker boogie tune.
Paul, Sr. is back on the mic for “Rattlesnake Road,” a roots rocker which has Dormire and Aulich trading solos as they duel on guitars. Then, Paul, Jr. takes over the lead vocal on the Southern rocker, “Keep Prayin’,” with Randy Threet contributing harmony vocals and deftly holding down the bottom on bass.
Concertgoers applaud as they recognize the dramatic intro to “You Are the Show” where Aulich and Threet sing, “I am just the player/You are the show,” on this moody and driving rocker before Threet and Paul, Sr. jam on bass and guitar.
After introducing the current members of the band, Paul, Sr. talks about starting The Outlaws in Tampa, FL in 1972 and opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1974. After adding, “I just wanted to tell you how lucky I feel to be able to still be here,” he dedicates the group’s next song to “all of our friends who couldn’t be here who we love and miss.” Here, Paul, Sr. cries, “Grey ghost running through the night/The man is gone but his spirit will remain,” on the country-rocker, “Grey Ghost.”
Music lovers whistle and cheer when they recognize The Outlaws’ 1975 Top 40 hit, “There Goes Another Love Song,” and join in singing on the country rocker’s appealing “There goes another love song/Someone singin’ about me again” refrain.
Mike Bailey’s drums kick off “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky,” a driving Western story song which has concertgoers singing along on the tune’s “Yippie i ay/Yippie i oh” chorus before the tempo shifts into double time and the guitarists travel across the stage performing for different sections of the audience.
Music lovers cheer and the group continues with “Waterhole,” a bouncy instrumental with a kick-ass country feel, and the musicians follow up with the country-rocker, “Knoxville Girl,” which starts out slowly but picks up speed on the tune’s “Go down, go down/Knoxville girl/With that dark and rovin’ eye” chorus.
At the conclusion, Paul, Sr. announces, “Thanks for coming out on a school night and thanks for being Outlaw fans for 50 years!” before he and the band conclude tonight’s show with a tour de force performance of “Green Grass and High Tides.” Lights spin over the crowd as the band mesmerizes listeners with a dramatic performance of this extended Southern rock classic which has Dormire making his electric guitar sing.
Aulich renders a screaming guitar solo and the audience sings along with Paul, Sr. on the tune’s “Green grass and high tides forever/Castles of stone souls and glory/Lost faces say we adore you/As kings and queens bow and play for you” refrain.
The tempo increases and concertgoers move to the groove before the guitarists play in a line, bending their knees and rising together. Following extended solos, all five guitarists make their way downstage where they electrify the crowd as they rip it up and raise their guitars in the air on the song’s dramatic conclusion to hoots, hollers, and a cheering standing ovation.
To learn more about The Outlaws, please go to outlawsmusic.com. For more info on Duane Betts and Palmetto Hotel please navigate to duanebetts.com. For information on upcoming shows at the Ocean City Music Pier — including 10,000 Maniacs on August 24 — please go to ocnj.us.
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