Allen Stone

Love me some Allen Stone. There was a bit of hype about him, but I wasn’t really familiar with him. Ben told me a funny story how his brother used to be Allen’s pastor back in the day and told me that Allen is genuinely one of the nicest guys so I put him on my list of local artists to see. The timing couldn’t have been better for my first Allen Stone concert. Straight off the plane from Italy, Graham picked up from from the airport and we made our way up to Bellingham. Hot Bodies in Motion opened for him, and it could not have been a better way to welcome me home. Unfortunately I didn’t get to enjoy Allen Stone entirely, as the fans were a bit too crazy and amde it really difficult to photograph him. They were pushy and a bit obnoxious (sign I’m getting old?) so I only grabbed a couple shots before I retreated from the front row. Wish I had stayed to get some better photos, but I think 26 hours of travel is a pretty good excuse to not have the patience for crazy front row fans at a concert. Here’s a diddle of Allen with Ben before his set.

Anyway, Allen Stone is the perfect example of what I love when it comes to musicians. Someone who is not what you perceive at first glance. This blonde hair, blue eyed crooner has a gorgeous and powerful soulful voice. It’s been a while since I found a pick me up song, but “Say So” is now my favorite pick me up. It brightens my mood no matter what, and one of my favorite songs to rock out to when stuck in traffic in Seattle. Makes the whole experience much more pleasant in my opinion. Here’s a video of the song live: