Presented by the City of Ocean City
Outlaws
Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel
Monday, August 10, 2026
Doors: 6:00 pm / Show: 7:00 pm
Ocean City Music Pier
825 Boardwalk (at Moorlyn Terrace)
Ocean City, NJ08226
Outlaws
For The Outlaws, it’s always been about the music. For more than 40 years, the Southern Rock legends celebrated triumphs and endured tragedies to remain one of the most influential and best-loved bands of the genre. Today, The Outlaws have returned with new music, new focus, and an uncompromising new mission: It’s about a band of brothers bound together by history, harmony, and the road. It’s about a group that respects its own legacy while refusing to be defined by it’s past. But most of all, it’s about pride.
It’s About Pride was also the title of the band’s acclaimed 2012 album, universally hailed as their victorious comeback. “Because The Outlaws had been out of the public eye for so long, it was almost like starting over,” explains founding singer / songwriter / guitarist Henry Paul. “But because of the band’s history, we dig deeper, write better, perform stronger. Everything we do is to reinforce the notion that The Outlaws still matter, and that Southern Rock will always matter. It’s a message we’re proud to bring into the 21st century.”
History lesson: Formed in Tampa in 1972, The Outlaws – known for their triple-guitar rock attack and three-part country harmonies – became one of the first acts signed by Clive Davis (at the urging of Ronnie Van Zant) to his then-fledgling Arista Records. The band’s first three albums The Outlaws, Lady In Waiting, and Hurry Sundown – featuring such rock radio favorites as ‘There Goes Another Love Song,’ ‘Green Grass & High Tides,’ ‘Knoxville Girl,’ and ‘Freeborn Man’ – would become worldwide gold and platinum landmarks of the Southern Rock era. Known as ‘The Florida Guitar Army’ by their fans, The Outlaws earned a formidable reputation as an incendiary live act touring with friends The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band and The Charlie Daniels Band, as well as The Doobie Brothers, The Who, Eagles and The Rolling Stones. Henry Paul left after the group’s third album to form The Henry Paul Band for Atlantic Records, and later co-founded the multi-Platinum country trio BlackHawk. Over the next 20+ years, The Outlaws would experience rampant personnel changes, tonal missteps, ill-fated reunions, and bitter trademark battles that left fans, not to mention Paul, frustrated and saddened. And with the tragic deaths of co-founding members Frank O’Keefe and Billy Jones in 1995 and songwriter/vocalist/lead guitarist Hughie Thomasson in 2007, it was feared that The Outlaws’ trail had come to an end.
When Henry Paul took leadership of the band in 2008, he firmly put The Outlaws back on a path both trusted and celebrated by longtime fans. “Audiences discovered that The Outlaws have something to say that is as engaging as when we began,” says Paul, “which is why every night when we perform, we give nothing less than everything we’ve got.” Along with founding member Paul, the band features several of Southern Rock’s most respected players: Keyboardist/vocalist Dave Robbins is a co-founding member of BlackHawk and has written hits for artists that include Restless Heart, Kenny Rogers and Eric Clapton. Longtime bassist/vocalist Randy Threet has performed with Trisha Yearwood, Pam Tillis, and BlackHawk, and is familiar to audiences from USA Network’s ‘Nashville Star.’ Lead guitarist Jimmy Dormire has played to millions with Confederate Railroad, Colonel Bruce Hampton, and The Luke Wheeler Band on the TV series Nashville. Drummer Michael Grando – who replaces the band’s retired / beloved co-founder Monte Yoho – has powered the beat for artists that include Joe Diffie, Jason Aldean, and Chris Knight. Vocalist / co-guitarist Jeff Aulich brings new fire to the band’s harmony arrangements and six-string pyrotechnics. The Outlaws have not only re-emerged as what fans now call ‘Southern Rock’s Last Band Standing,’ but as a dedicated band of brothers who still write, play and perform with the skill, grit, and fire of acts a fraction of their age. “I want the fans to see the band’s growth and recognize the quality of the music,” Henry says. “We’re focused on where we come from, where we’re headed and how much fun we’re still having on the ride.”
As live performers, the band burns hotter than ever. “The Outlaws helped define Southern Rock for me and for generations of fans,” wrote music journalist Bill Robinson in The Huffington Post. “Seeing them onstage with The Charlie Daniels Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd or countless others was, for a long time, one of the best experiences I could have. And so it was again when I saw The Outlaws play recently.” The band’s concerts – vividly captured in their 2016 double album Legacy Live – are blazing 2+ hour tributes to the band’s rich history and fiery rebirth. Classic tracks and fan favorites from the first three albums – as well as The Henry Paul Band’s definitive ‘Grey Ghost’ – share the spotlight with songs from It’s About Pride and 2020’s acclaimed Dixie Highway that have been enthusiastically embraced by audiences. “I think our new material goes back to those three classic Outlaws albums, when the band was proud of its influences from country, blues and jazz,” says Paul. “Plus, Jimmy and Jeff have honored and maybe even stepped up the legacy of ‘The Guitar Army’. Our goal is to unite the fans and bring the band back into the light. It’s about finishing what we started.” For Henry, Dave, Randy, Jimmy, Michael, and Jeff, it’s also about a band of brothers who love playing their own brand of rock, and who 40+ years ago first got the chance to share it with the world.
For The Outlaws, it’s still about the music. And now more than ever, it’s about pride.
Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel
By the time Duane Betts began working on Wild & Precious Life — his triumphant debut solo album — he’d already spent two decades creating his own version of guitar-slinging, story-driven American rock & roll.
“It felt like the right time to make something that was entirely my own vision,” he says. “This is a record that guitar players will love, but at its core, it’s really a song record. It’s an album about who I am, where I come from, and what I believe in.”
The years leading up to Wild & Precious Life‘s creation were a whirlwind. Duane cut his teeth with the bands Backbone69 and Whitestarr, then spent the better part of ten years playing guitar alongside his father — legendary Allman Brothers co-founder Dickey Betts — as a member of Dickey Betts & Great Southern. He’d also travel the world as a touring member of Dawes before releasing an EP of his own songs, Sketches of American Music, in 2018. As the decade drew to a close, Duane co-founded The Allman Betts Band, releasing two records in 2019 and 2020.
Even so, the need to create a full-length solo album — one that nodded to his musical roots while simultaneously pushing ahead into new territory — continued to gnaw at him. “I wanted to make a record which would really capture that old school Florida vibe,” says the Sarasota native. Following his instincts, Duane assembled his dream team of musicians — including guitarist Johnny Stachela, bassist Berry Duane Oakley, keyboardist John Ginty, and drummer Tyler Greenwell — and took up his old friends Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks on an offer to record at their own Swamp Raga Studio in Jacksonville. Wild & Precious Life was recorded to two-inch analog tape during a series of live-in-the-recording-studio performances in 2022.
“We set up as a band, tracked everything live, and kept whichever takes had the magic,” says Duane, who co-produced the album with Stachela and Ginty. The band welcomed a number of guests into the fold too, finding room for Marcus King (who swaps guitar solos with Duane on “Cold Dark World”), Nicki Bluhm (whose haunting harmonies run throughout the country-flavored “Colors Fade”), and Derek Trucks (who contributes searing guitar leads to the album highlight “Stare at the Sun”). Bobby Tis handled the album’s engineering duties, while seven-time Grammy winner Jim Scott mixed.
Wild & Precious Life offers up a timeless version of American music — a mix of blues, rock, folk, and country that could’ve blanketed the FM radio airwaves during any number of decades. It’s a modern album inspired by some of the best parts of the past, full of sharply crafted songs written in a state of deep reflection and Duane’s journey toward sobriety. “Waiting on a Song” is a timeless tribute to patience, faith, and the muse itself, laced with fiery fretwork from Duane’s Les Paul Gold Top. “Circles in the Stars” is equal parts cowboy campfire song and folk ballad, with Duane singing a love letter to his wife over the earthy resonance of a vintage, post-WWII Martin D28 acoustic guitar that once belonged to his father. The twin guitar harmonies that define “Stare at the Sun” breathe fresh life into southern rock. “I was inspired by a conversation I’d had with Derek, where he was talking about my father’s guitar playing,” Duane explains. “He told me, ‘Your dad is one of those players who’s not afraid to stare directly into the sun,’ and I loved that line. I was already working on a new song, and Derek’s sentiment gave the song a center.” Even the album’s instrumental track, “Under the Bali Moon,” seems to conjure up its own storyline, thanks to a combination of evocative slide guitar and non-western twinkles of piano.
Wild & Precious Life captures the emotional release of overcoming struggle, appreciating the fleeting nature of life, and celebrating the joy of being present.
Wild and precious, indeed.