Gregg Allman Scholarship

Maybe he's No Angel, but Gregg Allman is now a benefactor to the Franklin College and the Hugh Hodgson School of Music:

A sold-out house at the Georgia Theatre greeted University of Georgia senior Katie Black in early January as she walked onstage with Gregg Allman. Her job was simple—introduce the legendary rock and blues musician prior to his first performance in Athens and thank him for establishing a scholarship that will help fund the remainder of her time at UGA.

They were joined by Alan Dorsey, dean of the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, who announced the significant endowment in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music to establish the Gregg Allman Music Scholarship.

From the stage, Allman spoke a few words about the personal importance of his endeavor.

"When I first started playing music, I played for myself," he said, "meaning that I played to feed the appetite for knowledge. I wanted to play because I wanted to play and learn. But later on you realize that you can do things for other people while just doing what you love to do. And why not pay it forward?

Why not, indeed? Wonderful and welcome involvement from Allman, a great artist and performer committed to giving back. The future of so many music school students just got that much brighter with this important new scholarship.

Image: Gregg Allman, left, talks to the crowd at the Georgia Theatre with Alan Dorsey, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and Katie Black, a music performance major.