NEDERLAND -- In 2017, Colorado guitarist and singer/songwriter James Dumm came up with an idea for a supergroup. He had played songs from The Allman Brothers Band with his Denver jam tribute, Mountain Jam, and he wanted to create another tribute band featuring an all-star lineup. Thus, The Other Brothers came to be.
The core lineup consists of Dumm on electric and slide guitar, Rob Eaton Jr. (also from Mountain Jam) on electric guitar, Todd Smallie on bass, Bill McKay on keys, Will Trask on percussion, and Mark Levy and John Michel on drums.
Among their performance accomplishments, Michel frequently tours with the John Oates Band, and McKay toured with Smallie in the Derek Trucks Band, for which Smallie was a core member. The band’s final album, Already Free, which features Smallie on bass and backing vocals, won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
Meanwhile, Dumm and McKay play with Johnny and the Mongrels, Dumm with Drunken Hearts, Eaton Jr. with Brother’s Keeper, Levy with Circles Around the Sun, and Trask with High Hawks.
The lineup is flexible, since not every member can make it to every show due to their other projects. Trask’s role as a percussionist is especially flexible, as the choice is meant to represent choices in the band’s later career, and Jiho Han, bassist for Judo Chop, will sub for Smallie in various upcoming shows.
McKay initially hesitated to start an Allman Brothers tribute group, but after a few shows, he couldn’t deny the connection and energy between the members. Particularly with the passing of Allman’s guitarist Dan Toler in 2013 and founding member Gregg Allman in 2017 (the latter of whom McKay shared the stage with at various points), the music took on a new relevance for both the musicians and the audience members.
Smallie has frequently collaborated with Colorado pianist Ryan Benthall, who has played with various Colorado groups. One of Benthall’s groups is Phoebe Nix, formed in 2014 in New Jersey by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Clauss. Combining funk and jazz sensibilities, the group serves as Clauss’s primary vehicle for his original songs.
Ultimately, both groups, particularly The Other Brothers, hope that they can bring fun to the shows they play while also demonstrating their dedication to the music. McKay remembers a quote from the person who first brought him into The Derek Trucks Band, Col. Bruce Hampton: “Take what you do seriously, don’t take yourself seriously.”
You can see Phoebe Nix opening for The Other Brothers at The Caribou Room, located at 55 Indian Peaks Drive in Nederland, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Doors open and dinner starts at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m.
To get your tickets in advance, be sure to head to thecaribouroom.com. Except for Will Trask, who has prior commitments, all of the core members of The Other Brothers will be performing at The Caribou Room.
You can find all of the individual members across social media, and you can learn more about Phoebe Nix by going to their Instagram (@phoebenix66).
You can find Phoebe Nix wherever you get your music, learn more about The Other Brothers by going to the-other-brothers.com, and find various music from members mentioned in this article by going to ryanbenthall.net and billmckaymusic.com.
