Guest Book

The Macon Telegraph October 11, 2003 Saturday HEADLINE: Allman Brothers fans go goo-goo over GABBAfest; Allman Brothers Band fans gather for their annual event GABBA. Kinda sounds like baby talk, doesn't it? Well, not to Priscilla Gallegos, member of the Georgia Allman Brothers Band Association and media contact for GABBAfest. Their organization and event are fully grown. Since the early '90s, Allman Brothers fans have united in Macon to celebrate their favorite band. They hang out, listen to live music, buy and sell collector's items and memorabilia, visit the Big House and Rose Hill Cemetery, while just generally wallowing in the vibes of the place where the ABB lived and played. Tickets are $25 for each night and $45 for the weekend. The festival, which starts today and ends Sunday, includes the soulful singer and songwriter Lee Roy Parnell, locally based Southern rock band Grinderswitch, guitar virtuoso Mark May, award-winning guitarist Tim Brooks with Breau Jam, and R&B and blues hybrid Big Willy and the Wingtips. The ABB themselves, most of the time, are too busy touring to participate. It's a good thing, too, because if the hardcore fans who frequent the festival saw Gregg Allman or Dickie Betts, they might shout out in nison "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!" The majority of the events will take place at the Douglass Theatre, except for Kirk West's music memorabilia yard sale at the Big House and tours on Saturday. West is the "tour mystic" and photographer for the ABB. Also on Saturday, GABBA members will donate their hair during the "I Almost Cut My Hair" benefit for the Locks of Love organization, a group that provides hairpieces for children suffering from long-term hair loss due to alopecia areata.