Overview

• Herndon slipped behind the drum kit for the encore song “Mountain Music” at the Orion Amphitheater, where more than 8,000 fans filled the sold-out venue.
• It marked Alabama’s first onstage performance with Herndon since the band’s 2003–2004 farewell run.
• Teddy Gentry invited Herndon the morning of the show after the pair reconnected over lunch weeks earlier, and the swap occurred as the touring drummer stepped away during the encore.
• Herndon called the moment cathartic, while Gentry described the night as special and noted the absence of late founding guitarist Jeff Cook, who died in 2022.
• The reunion follows years of tension over Herndon’s status and a 2008 lawsuit alleging about $200,000 in overpayments; outlets reported no additional appearances have been announced.