Ask Duane Betts what Isle of Hope, the title of his new full-length sophomore album means, and he’ll tell you it ranges from being a respite from the daily news cycle to navigating the passing of his father and mentor Dickey Betts back on April 18, 2024.
For the younger Betts the title was also inspired by a literal sign that greeted him as he worked to complete his follow-up album to his 2023 full-length debut, Wild & Precious Life.
“The title of Isle of Hope came from driving to the studio every day,” he said in a recent interview. “Right before you would get to the studio you’d get to this little bridge and there was a sign that read, ‘You are now entering Isle of Hope.’ That’s where that house is where we recorded the album. It’s right at the beginning of Isle of Hope. That was the impetus for the title, but I also thought it was a very appropriate title given the times we’re in, given [all the day-to-day] anxiety.
“People are going through so much, and music has always been a sanctuary and good medicine for people,” he continued. “I feel like this is their little piece of something they can stand on. It’s their isle of hope. That’s the concept behind the title. It has a couple of different meanings.”
Recorded in five days, this 10-song collection found renowned producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile/Jason Isbell) at the helm, a result of a recommendation from Betts’ friend and fellow guitarist J.D. Simon, who also works closely with the producer as a bass player in the latter’s studio band.
“I’ve known J.D. for quite a few years now, and I was at his house and played him a voice memo of a new tune I’d written,” Betts recalled. “He said, ‘You know who’s like this? Dave.’ I told him that would be awesome and I’d love to work with Dave. He connected us and gave Dave some songs.
“He said he’d love to work with me,” Betts added. “Needless to say, I jumped in headfirst and started sending more songs. I made it happen, and the rest is history. I’m very proud of the record and so grateful to be surrounded by so many talented people—the musicians, Dave obviously, my wife and everyone who helped with it.”
For Betts, working with Cobb proved to be not only a rewarding and intriguing experience, it allowed the 47-year-old, guitar-playing singer/songwriter to deepen his skills as both a player and composer.
“Dave’s process is so unique and kind of has this savant ability in the studio,” Betts said with a touch of admiration. “He made so many amazing contributions and strong calls with these songs to bring them from where they were to their maximum potential. And he’s a genius in that regard. He has impeccable tastes, great instincts. And those are intangibles in what I want in a producer.”
He added, “I think Dave really wanted to capture my vocals sounding the most natural and most vulnerable as they possibly can. They’re not the most polished, but I think I’ve gotten a little more comfortable as a singer to the point where a lot of these vocals are live. He made me feel comfortable enough to capture that. That’s a major step forward for me, to get really natural vocals. And I feel like there’s an immediacy to these songs because of the fact that you can tell the vocals are there with the take.”
Having cut his teeth working in a number of outlets ranging from the Allman Betts Band, with fellow Allman Brothers Band progeny Devon Allman, and as a touring guitarist, with both Dawes and his father’s band Great Southern, Betts is hitting the road with own band, Palmetto Motel.
For the Florida native, whose earliest musical influences ranged from listening to Van Halen and Run-DMC on his own cassettes as a kid to delving into everything from Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley to Smashing Pumpkins, Dire Straits and the Cure, it’s a chance to give fans a taste of Isle of Hope while doing a consummate music-fan’s flex.
“As the record comes out, we’ll play more and more of the record,” Betts said. “I don’t want to play all of the record right away. We’ve kind of got to chip away at it. The exciting thing is bringing in the new songs.
“But also they can expect to hear songs from my other records, and obviously I’ll probably throw a couple of Dad’s songs in there,” he continued. “And maybe a [Bob] Dylan tune, a Neil Young tune, a [Grateful] Dead tune or a Wilco tune. We have some tricks up our sleeve. We’ll build up the set list as we get further into it in the year.”
While Dickey Betts made his bones co-founding the Allman Brothers and as an in-demand session guitarist for Southern soul impresario Phil Walden, his son started out as a drummer, despite his father’s best efforts to start him strumming at a young age.
“One of my earliest musical memories that stands out is there was a ukulele and my dad would put it in my hands and try to put my hand around the neck to show me how to fret,” Betts said. “I didn’t like it. I remember thinking it was really hard, and I didn’t want to do that. I decided I wanted to play drums. Then I became a drummer, so my dad got me a drum set from some leftover drums that his drummer had where his solo band rehearsed.”
It all changed when Duane turned 13 and began hosting jam sessions at his house.
“I remember watching my friends, who were beginners, play guitar and [I] saw what they were doing,” Betts said. “I thought I could learn that, so I started picking the guitar up. Things started coming to me. Lo and behold, I started hearing intervals; I could hear things on the guitar. I started teaching myself how this chord makes that shape or sound, and started identifying that. I started making progress and found it to be much more expressive.”
Fast forward to the present day and Betts is in a good place with a thriving solo career and an end-of-year tradition with the Allman Betts Band that finds the crew playing a three-week stint honoring the Allman Brothers Band canon with help from a number of musical friends. And with 10 years of sobriety under his belt, Betts is also grateful to be where he’s landed versus becoming a cautionary tale.
“I’m kind of at a place in my life where I’m still dealing with trying to get better and be the best man I can be,” Betts said. “But I think I’ve conquered a lot of demons that some people haven’t. Some of the songs on Isle of Hope—there’s a lot of that. ‘Winners of War,’ for example, is a song that deals directly with all the memories, good and bad, of being in addiction and being part of a gang. All the glory and all the darkness.
“That can really work for a while, and then you look back and are grateful you’ve moved on,” he added. “But you can look back and shake your head, but also have a smile and know that you’re glad that you made it out.”
Duane Betts & Palmetto Hotel perform at 8pm on Friday, Aug. 28, at the Sweetwater Music Hall, 19 Corte Madera Ave., Mill Valley.
