The veteran musicians are trying to play 50 concerts in 50 states in 49 days, with the final performance taking place during the three-day BeachLife Ranch Festival in Redondo Beach on Sept. 22-24.
These seasoned rockers have pretty much seen it and done it all as musical journeymen who have long been committed to a life on the road.
But their latest tour is going to be one for the record books, if they pull it off in Redondo Beach this weekend.
Devon Allman, the son of the late Gregg Allman, and professional surfer turned laid-back soulful rocker Donavon Frankenreiter are attempting to set a new Guinness World Record for performing 50 concerts in 50 states in 49 days as part of their collaborative See It All American Tour.
And their final, record-setting stop is on day one of the second annual BeachLife Ranch Festival, which returns to Redondo Beach on Sept. 22-24.
“Being out on the road with Devon and us ending our record-breaking tour at BeachLife Ranch is going to be such a special moment,” said Frankenreiter during a video chat as he sat on a tour bus next to his musical cohort somewhere in Montana on their way to the next gig. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There’s so many great things coming together on that day.”
“We feel really strong entering into the final phase of the tour, it’s been an amazing run,” Allman added. “We’ve had some amazing crowds and the band has been jelling insanely because we’ve had 40 nights so far consecutively without a night off. So everyone is pretty high on the energy and having their eyes on the prize.”
The BeachLife Ranch Festival, set to take place at Redondo Beach’s Seaside Lagoon, is bringing about three dozen country and Americana acts to three stages with headliners that include Jack Johnson, Cody Links, Brad Paisley, The Doobie Brothers, Wynonna Judd, Shakey Graves, Chris Isaak and others.
BeachLife Ranch is the sister festival to the more laid-back rock and reggae infused BeachLife Festival, which also took place at Seaside Lagoon earlier this year.
For Frankenreiter, setting the record in Redondo Beach will be fitting since he was among the co-founders of the festival brand.
“This year, the festival is really exciting, the lineup is insane,” Frankenreiter said. “You get everything at this festival: big acts playing acoustic, up-and-coming acts and headliners that we feel bring Americana and country and represent that beach life.”
Setting the Record
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the fastest time to play a concert in each of the 50 states is 50 days. It’s a record originally set by folk singer Adam Brodsky in 2003.
Several other musical acts have since matched the record, but none have surpassed it, said Allman, who was the one to come up with the idea and quickly recruited his frequent jam partner to take part in the historic attempt.
“It’s just something fun, something to shake it up. We can go on tour like normal anytime, but we really wanted to collaborate and I had this idea a while back and I thought it would be fun,” Allman said.
“Devon called me with the idea and I said ‘Why not.” Who’s (expletive) crazy enough to go play all 50 states in 49 days? We are,” Frankenreiter said.
While the concept seems simple, it’s been an often grueling road trip that started on Aug. 5 with a double header performance that began with an early show in Annapolis, Maryland, followed by an evening show in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. From there, it’s been pretty much gigs on the stage and then overnights on the bus as the duo and their four-piece backing band have played daily shows in different states every single night.
“The exhaustion comes in waves,” Allman said. “But for the most part it’s been surprisingly OK. I think envisioning a day off on this endeavor would feel like a momentum killer.”
To go along with the tour, the musicians released a collaborative EP titled “Rollers” this summer, which basically serves as a musical soundtrack for their record-setting journey made up of six songs that are about life on the road.
“The songs just roll and there’s a lot of lyrical nods to travel and we just wanted to inspire people to go on that great American road trip,” Allman said.
At the time of this interview the pair were just 11 stops away from their final gig in Redondo Beach, where they will perform a one-hour set together starting at 4 p.m.
“We just got to get there. If you’re interviewing a team about the Super Bowl, they’re not thinking about the Super Bowl, they’re thinking about the next game and we have a few more gigs to play then we can start putting the champagne on ice,” Frankenreiter said.
After completing their record-breaking tour, they’re planning on a little bit of rest before each goes their own way again to get back to where they most feel at home, on the road again.