GALLERY: Saratoga New Year’s Eve With the Allman Betts Band
12/31 @ Saratoga City Center, Saratoga Springs
All photos by Maggie Aulman
Saratoga rang in the New Year with a night of live music across three venues. At the City Center, opening acts like Little Saints, Angelina Valente, Heard, Glass Pony, The Junkman, Ally the Piper, and Maggie Doherty filled the halls with music before the Allman Betts Band took the stage.
Joined by special guest drummer Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, The Allman Betts Band closed out the night with a dynamic and soulful jam. The band delivered a heartfelt tribute to their fathers’ legendary catalog with Allman Brothers classics like “Blue Sky,” “Jessica,” “Melissa,” “Dreams,” “Back Where it All Began” and “Midnight Rider.” With original songs such as “Magnolia Road,” “Autumn Breeze,” “Down to the River” and “Shinin’” the band highlighted their own signature jamming chemistry and moving songwriting. As Betts and I discussed in our interview, “Autumn Breeze” is not a song the band plays often, making it a special moment of the set and an early highlight.
Extended jams that had the crowd up and dancing and a packed house eager to welcome the New Year made this Saratoga NYE a great way to start 2026.
