Allman fans enjoy tribute concert at Central City Park
It was a crisp, breezy fall Sunday in the park, and the music was just cranking up.
A stage on the lawn in Macon's Central City Park, between the venue's green-roofed gazebo and the old Georgia State Fair office, was a focal point for the annual salute to late rock legend Duane Allman.
The gathering, known as Skydog 69, was marking its 10th year.
A framed sketch of the concert's namesake was propped on the stage's left side. Fifty or so yards away, there were a few larger-than-life red mushrooms, symbolic of the Allman Brothers Band, some of Macon's most famous sons.
Concertgoer and artist Deneise Ricketson had painted the mushrooms on a 4-foot-wide, yard-high piece of plywood.
"I looked at an old Allman Brothers show poster to fashion my decisions on paint colors," said Ricketson, 56, who lives in Warner Robins.
The artwork, she said, was her way of "sharing the Allman Brothers love."
Concertgoers, many of them watching the five-hour show from lawn chairs amid temperatures in the 50s, brought canned goods to benefit the Rescue Mission of Middle Georgia.
Music fan Dennis Floyd, of Macon, has attended the event every year.
"I love Southern rock," said Floyd, 69. "It's like a little reunion. Most of the people here are over 50, so you see some of the people you haven't seen in a while."
Mitch Harrell, 19, a drummer for a group of five young musicians who call themselves the Young Brothers, said he enjoys playing the Allmans' tunes.
"It's music that's been such a big inspiration to all of us," said Harrell, who lives in Gray.
Harrell and others in the band opened Sunday's show and they represent a new generation of Allman aficionados.
The group's other drummer, Brayden Long, 19, and also from Gray, said, "Being able to play a lot of this old stuff that has high influences from jazz and blues, it's just such a different thing to play. It's also way more challenging. It's great to be able to play it and better myself as a musician."
To contact writer Joe Kovac Jr., call 744-4397.
This story was originally published November 22, 2015 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Allman fans enjoy tribute concert at Central City Park ."