Bernard Allison: Following a Legacy, Blazing a Trail

For Chicago blues royalty Bernard Allison, art doesn’t imitate life. They are the same. To him, both his music and his life rely on his relationships to family and friends; they can’t be separated.

His new album, Loving You, drops on October 16 and it’s filled with guest musicians from both groups. Besides Allison and his band, the album features Victor Wainwright on piano and vocals, Larry McCray and Matthew Mwangi on guitar, Matthew Curry on guitar and vocals, Devon Allman on guitar, his nephew Jasper Allison and niece Lindsey Allison on backing vocals, and Heather Hardy on violin.

In an interview with Blues Rock Review, Allison, son of the legendary Luther Allison, explained that maintaining those bonds are the only way he approaches everything he does.

Such collaborations have always been a part of his recordings and live shows. In past projects he’s worked with Tom Hambridge, Colin Linden, Colin James, Cedric Burnside, Chris Beard and many others.

Burnside and Beard also come from musical families and, along with special connections Allison has made with Ronnie Baker Brooks and Devon Allman, they not only help musically but in dealing with the challenges of having famous fathers.

When BRR asked if they specifically talk about growing up in famous families, he replied with an emphatic yes.

“For me it’s like, let’s go hang out. Let’s go have dinner and share ideas and just what’s going on with you? What’s the upside? What’s the downside? Maybe I’ve been through it or vice versa, you know. They got my phone number. You call me. I’ll pick up,” he said of his close relationship with the others.

“Well, Ronnie and myself, we basically grew up together and talk every other day,” he said. “So, yes, we would always talk about it and I always push to collaborate. I’d say, ‘let’s keep the vibe going’.”

Allison says he reminds others about their past and how to move forward in their own careers. “We’re all still young enough, and we all have the same dedication for the music. We have to keep in the back of our mind to document as much of the (family) legacy as we can, because now we’re creating our own legacy on top of our parents’ legacy,” he explained.

He acknowledged they also discuss the business side of things. “You’ve got to learn how to read. Those things are very important – reading contracts, reading the fine lines, knowing where you are, what’s the money exchange and things like that. If you have no knowledge of it, (the business) you can be robbing yourself,” he warned.

Allison recently toured with Devon Allman, son of legendary Greg Allman, in a tour billed as ‘Devon Allman Project Featuring Bernard Allison.’ Promotion for the project said, “Devon Allman carries on the traditions of southern rock and the legacy of The Allman Brothers with his heart on his sleeve.”

And that’s something to which Bernard Allison can relate. He and the younger Allman both understand the responsibility of carrying on their fathers’ legacies while building their own.

Allison reflected on the project, saying, “It was awesome because, well, Devon and I have known each other for years, but it was just passing at a festival, taking a photo, giving a hug. And he finally called me to be a part of the European version of The Blues Summit, and I immediately jumped on board.”

He continued, “So for me, it was great to play with him, but it was even more. I got more out of us just hanging and talking about how we grew up as the sons of legends, and just that conversation and how much we are so much alike in that area.”

“For myself, and Devon, and Ronnie, you know, we’re all creators now, as well as basically keeping our parents’, our fathers’, music legacy alive.”

Allison has recorded about 22 albums on his own but has constantly kept that heritage in mind by always including a couple of Luther Allison songs on each record. In 2024, he put out an entire tribute album, called ‘Luther Blues‘ and he said that was an important project to him.

“The vinyl came out and they’re just flying off the shelf. It’s like, this thing is amazing. But a lot of those people hadn’t heard of me. It made them go back and research where I started from, from the first album until the last album. For them to hear, knowing my father’s songs and now know my version, they’re like, wow, this is great, – it’s not him, but it is him, you know what I’m saying? It was two different singers, two different guitar players. So I was very happy to share that with the fan base.”

The new album is steeped in blues, funk, soul and R&B. He explained, “It’s rooted in just having family and friends get together to show the appreciation of different genres and throwing us together and kind of bringing each of us out of our own bag, you know? And I got the opportunity to do it this time, so I called them (the album guests) and said, hey, you want to be a part of this and everybody kind of jumped right on it. So the list could have actually been a lot longer, but I’m gonna save some for later, you know.”

Of course, the younger Allison’s roots flourished while he was physically surrounded by blues giants. He grew up among legends, including Muddy Waters, Albert King, Johnny Winter, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

He began to understand how different that childhood was once he started to play himself. He didn’t pick up the guitar until he was in high school but two days after graduation he was the lead guitarist for another Chicago blues legend, Koko Taylor.

“I knew after that point, I had something special, you know, because I can’t read music, but I can play anything I hear. So I’m pretty blessed and honored to be able to continue the Alison legacy. Sure, my dad’s there, but I have my own thing too.”