On March 26, 2009, the Allman Brothers Band celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first gig with a very special concert. The video of that show will soon be released on DVD.

Titled '40' and arriving April 30, the disc shows the Allman Brothers playing their first two albums -- their self-titled 1969 debut and the next year's 'Idlewild South' -- as part of their annual run at New York's Beacon Theater. Unlike other shows during that spell, which featured more than 60 guest musicians sitting in with the band, this concert featured only the current lineup.

Those two records set the template for the classic Allman Brothers sound, with such classics as 'Dreams,' Whipping Post,' 'Midnight Rider' and 'In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.' Upon their original release, they were critically acclaimed, but had trouble finding an audience. It wasn't until their next effort, 1971's two-LP 'At Fillmore East,' that they became household names.

Last month, the band had to postpone several shows during this year's residency at the Beacon due to Gregg Allman's illness. However, the singer recently said that the "bronchitis is pretty much gone. I feel almost 100%!" The Allman Brothers band will play the 10th annual Mountain Jam Festival, which will take place June 5-8 at Hunter Mountain, N.Y.

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