Gregg Allman Documentary ‘The Music of My Soul’ Sets Premiere Events and Wide Release

Devon Allman and Duane Betts will perform at the New York premiere; Chuck Leavell appears at the Macon screening.

A new documentary on the life of Gregg Allman, titled Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul, is set for a theatrical release on June 17 at more than 200 screens across the United States. Two sold-out premiere events precede the wide opening: one on June 9 at New York City's Gramercy Theater and a second on June 11 at the Grand Opera House in Macon, Georgia. Directed by James Keach, the film traces Allman's full arc from the founding of the Allman Brothers Band through his final years.

What the Documentary Covers

The film draws on extensive interviews with Allman himself and many of the people closest to him, alongside archival concert and interview footage spanning his entire career. Its scope takes in the co-founding of the Allman Brothers Band with his older brother Duane in the South of the 1960s, the deaths of Duane and bassist Berry Oakley (both at age 24), the band's multiplatinum success, a breakup, Gregg's marriage to Cher, years of substance abuse, and his eventual recovery.

A newly released trailer includes vintage 1970s footage of Allman speaking about the loss of Duane, who died in a 1971 motorcycle accident. “I was mad at him for dying,” Allman says in the clip. “I was mad at life. You never know how much you're leaning on someone until they die.” Gregg Allman himself died in 2017.

Premiere Events: New York and Macon

Both premiere screenings will include a Q&A with members of the filmmaking team. The New York event at the Gramercy Theater on June 9 adds a special acoustic performance by Devon Allman, Gregg's son, alongside Duane Betts, son of the late Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts. The two are bandmates in the Allman Betts Band, making their appearance a pointed piece of generational continuity.

The Macon screening on June 11 at the Grand Opera House will feature an appearance by Chuck Leavell, the keyboardist known for his work with both the Allman Brothers Band and the Rolling Stones. Both events are sold out.

Director James Keach on Allman's Story

Keach is a Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning filmmaker whose previous credits include the 2005 Academy Award-winning Walk the Line and the documentaries Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, David Crosby: Remember My Name, and the Grammy-winning Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice. He has built a reputation for intimate portraits of American music legends navigating mortality and legacy.

Keach said in a statement that understanding formative trauma was central to his approach. “Not everyone works this way, but I believe that understanding trauma from the formative years of a person's life is central when telling their story in a documentary,” he said. “A lot of incredible artists have these shattering experiences in their past that inform every aspect of their lives and talent. Gregg had those demons inside his amazingly creative brain. He dove deep into his addiction when Duane died, but later in life, when he was sober, he faced his own mortality with dignity and acceptance.”

Keach also noted a personal connection to the material. “Gregg's story totally resonated with me, especially his relationship with his brother, Duane. I have a very close relationship with my brother, Stacy, and the thought of losing my brother at such a young age really got me.”

Production and Distribution

The film marks the first release from Subtext, a U.S. independent film production and distribution company launched in January 2026 by Danielle DiGiacomo, Brian Levy, and Teddy Liouliakis. Rolling Stone Films is supporting the documentary through editorial, digital, and cultural activations.

Producers include Keach alongside longtime Gregg Allman manager Michael Lehman and Alex Komisaruk of PCH Films. Executive producers include Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of Amblin Documentaries, Douglas Banker of Five All in the Fifth, Michael Hughes and Greg C. Lake of DLP Media Group, Robert Stein, Alexandra Dale of Rolling Stone Films, and Levy and Liouliakis of Subtext.

Lehman, who managed Allman for years, said the film reflects the full weight of Gregg's life. “Gregg was impacted by, among other things, his profoundly close relationship and the tragic loss of his brother Duane,” Lehman said. “His music reflects the joy and the pain of his life experiences.”

The Allman Legacy Today

Drummer Jai Johanny Johanson, known as Jaimoe, is the last surviving member of the original Allman Brothers Band lineup. The band played its final shows in 2014 after 45 years that included extraordinary commercial success alongside the deaths, addictions, and internal conflicts that defined much of its history.

The next generation has carried the music forward through the Allman Betts Band, and an informal collective called the Brothers, comprising Jaimoe, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, and Joe Russo, has staged occasional shows at Madison Square Garden.

What we know

• Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul opens theatrically on June 17 at over 200 screens across the United States, with one-week engagements in Los Angeles and New York.
• A premiere event on June 9 at New York's Gramercy Theater will feature a special acoustic performance by Devon Allman and Duane Betts.
• A second premiere event on June 11 at the Grand Opera House in Macon, Georgia, will include a special appearance by Chuck Leavell.
• Both premiere events are sold out and will include a Q&A with members of the filmmaking team.
• The documentary was directed by James Keach, whose credits include Walk the Line, Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, David Crosby: Remember My Name, and Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.
• The film is the first release from Subtext, a U.S. independent film production and distribution company started in January 2026.
• Jaimoe is identified as the last surviving member of the original Allman Brothers Band.

The take

James Keach has quietly become the go-to director for elegiac portraits of American rock and country royalty. Walk the Line, Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, and Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice all share a template: a singular artist, a complicated life, and a camera that stays close enough to catch the grief underneath the catalog. Gregg Allman fits that lineage almost too perfectly. The Allman Brothers Band's story is one of the defining tragedies in Southern rock, and Gregg spent the better part of five decades carrying the weight of Duane's death while simultaneously embodying the band's survival. That tension, between grief and perseverance, is exactly the kind of material Keach has shown he can handle with care. The choice to anchor the premiere events around Devon Allman and Duane Betts is also worth noting. Both men grew up in the shadow of fathers who defined a genre, and both have spent years building their own credibility on the road with the Allman Betts Band. Their presence at the Gramercy screening turns the premiere into something closer to a family gathering than a press event. For a film about legacy and loss, that framing is entirely appropriate. The involvement of Amblin Documentaries and the debut of Subtext as a distributor also signals that this release is positioned for serious awards consideration, not just a nostalgia run.

Why it matters

For Classic Rock fans, this documentary arrives at a moment when the original Allman Brothers Band is down to a single surviving founding member. The film offers what may be the most comprehensive account of Gregg Allman's life in his own words, drawing on interviews he gave before his 2017 death. Beyond the archival value, the premiere events in New York and Macon frame the release as a communal event for a fanbase that has always treated the Allman Brothers story as something larger than a band biography.

What's next

The sold-out premiere at New York's Gramercy Theater takes place June 9, followed by the Macon screening at the Grand Opera House on June 11. The film opens wide on June 17 at over 200 screens nationwide, with one-week engagements in Los Angeles and New York. Tickets for the theatrical run are currently on sale.

Frequently asked questions

Related coverage

• Gregg Allman Documentary to Premiere at Savannah’s Lucas Theatre on June 17
• Rock Hall Opens Major Paul McCartney and Wings Exhibit Through 2026
• Geddy Lee Calls Out Drummers Who Pushed to Replace Neil Peart After His Death