Donavon Frankenreiter and Devon Allman took the long way around to wind up at the BeachLife Ranch festival, which rolled into its second day on Saturday, Sept. 23.
For the seasoned musicians, it was end of a 14,000-mile journey they dubbed “See It All American Tour” — and an attempt to break a world record.
In front of an enthusiastic crowd on the festival’s main stage and joined by friends and family, the duo unofficially broke a long-standing Guinness World Record by performing 50 concerts in 50 states in only 49 days at BeachLife Ranch.
BeachLife Ranch — the countryfied cousin of May’s BeachLife event in Redondo Beach, billing itself as a “celebration of the cowboy surfer way of life” — continued Saturday. Fans packed the seaside stages to see headliners Wynonna Judd, Cody Jinks, Shooter Jennings’ Revival performing The Highwaymen and The Doobie Brothers.
“It just feels surreal that we’re here,” said Frankenreiter, a professional surfer turned musician, following his record-setting show on Friday.
“I don’t think there could have been a better place to get to ride off into the sunset here,” said Allman, son of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Gregg Allman of Allman Brothers Band fame, who like Frankenreiter is a veteran of BeachLife festivals.
The record was set just hours before superstar singer/songwriter Jack Johnson took to the same stage to an adoring crowd who sang along to his hit songs. Just like Frankenreiter, Johnson was a professional surfer in his earlier days.
Frankenreiter and Devon Allman began their concert adventure in early August.
“Can we do this? Will somebody gets sick? Will there be a delay? Will the bus break down?,” said Frankenreiter along the way.
“No one got sick. No one got hurt. No one lost their voice. And the bus didn’t break down,” Allman added.
But the biggest challenges to breaking the record came on its last leg, with less than a week to go, including a long flight to Anchorage, a “rough and tumble city,” Allman said.
“Then you literally land, go to sound check, grab a bite, play the show, go right back to the airport,” Allman said. “And we did the same in Hawaii. So we were in Anchorage for nine hours. We were in Honolulu for nine hours.”
The pair and their band landed at LAX at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, then took a power nap before taking the stage at 4 p.m., said Allman.
It was a 24-hour period fraught with worry as their goal looked to be in reach.
“I was thinking to myself last night: If the pilot comes on board and goes, we have a little bit of a problem,” Frankenreiter said. “I mean, I don’t know what I would have done if we would have crumbled on day 48.”
While on the road, the two musicians saw a large part of the country, which they captured on camera for an upcoming documentary.
Allman said they did barrel rolls in World War II biplanes in Vermont, took a plunge in Lake Superior in 40 degree weather, and visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
“We got the white-glove, VIP (treatment) because my dad’s in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Allman said.
Allman said about 10 years ago, he wondered if anyone had visited every state consecutively without a night off, but he shelved the idea as “insane.”
When his now wife Ashley threw him a surprise 50th birthday party last summer, the idea returned.
But, Allman said, he knew he could never do the tour alone. So, he called Frankenreiter, who signed on before he even finished the pitch.
“I’m like, that’s a great idea,” Frankenreiter said. “Like let’s do it in 49 and so that got me excited.”
Without the dedication of their band mates — Matt Grundy (bass), John Lum (drums), David Gomez (percussion, sax) and Jackson Stokes (guitar) — the frontmen said they could not have completed the journey.
Everyone was on board to meet the 50-in-50 goal Frankenreiter said, who is accustomed to performing dozens of shows in back-to-back days.
“I’ve been on tours before it was like, ‘I’m just not feeling it tonight,’” Frankenreiter said. “And the whole band kind of goes along with that sentiment.”
The Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest time to play a concert in each of the 50 states was set in 2003 by folk singer Adam Brodsky. The singer did it in 50 days. And, that record has since been tied by other acts.
Frankenreiter and Allman did it in 49 days by starting off with two shows in one day (Maryland and Pennsylvania) at the start of the tour.
But, the record isn’t going to be certified by Guinness as the pair said the organization’s criteria was too strict.
“They would have had to have a guy on our tour bus, checking that we’re on stage every night, just like some really ridiculous stuff,” Frankenreiter said.
Instead, they decided to Frankenreiter added, “We were in talks with them. But it was so much that it was like come on guys. Like you’re gonna break the tour. They wanted so much money and they wanted just things that we couldn’t or wouldn’t agree to. So we backed out of that.”
At Friday’s show, they held up a copy of their “Rollers” EP framed, which read World Record below. Released in June, “Rollers” helped launched the world breaking tour.
The musicians said they are going to take a break, but expect the documentary about their journey to be released next year. And, they’re planning a live record that was recorded halfway through their tour in Texas.
What’s next?
“Maybe a sequel in Europe?,” Allman said. “Do all the European countries?”
For now, they were able to end a historic tour with friends and family and an enthusiastic crowd at BeachLife Ranch.
“That adrenaline put us over the edge, gave us the power to kind of get through because I mean, obviously like 24 hours ago, we were on stage in Honolulu,” Allman said.
“It’s so cool to be on the beach, to be so close to L.A. and to end this crazy tour, this feat, at this spot,” Frankenreiter said.
BeachLife Ranch concludes Sunday with headliners Chris Isaak, Midland and Brad Paisley.
For more information, visit beachliferanch.com.
