Artist of the Week: Allen Stone

Nina Bohata
Apr 27, 2020
2 min read

Bio

Name: Allen Stone

Date of birth: 13 March 1987

Place of birth: Chelewah, Washington (U.S)

Genres : R&B, Soul

Instruments: vocals and guitar

Photo: by Jack Mckain

I was first introduced to Allen Stone in 2013 through an Instagram post by Justin Bieber praising his talent. Since seeing the post of an acoustic performance by Stone singing his original “ The Bed I Made "he has continued to be one of my favourite artists. It is no surprise that Stevie Wonder is one of his inspirations as this influence is apparent through Stone's soulful voice and songs that possess a timeless quality to them - which is what much of mainstream music is lacking today. Stone's other influences include Marvin Gaye, The Meters, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Jamie Lidell and James Morrison.

The Bed I Made

Allen Stone's father was a preacher and this exposed him to music from the young age of three. Stone says that performing in church gave him confidence as he became comfortable singing in front of an audience. Stone,the self-described "hippie with soul", only found his love of soul music as a teenager when began collecting classic soul albums.

Brown Eyed Lover

Allen Stone realised that music could be a career path for him when his friend Stacie Orrico, known for hit single "(There's Gotta Be) More To Life," found success in the industry. After a small stint at community college and at Moody Bible Institute Spokane he decided to pursue music.

Photo: by Dustin Downing/KCRW

In his songs "Unaware" and "American Privilege" Stone shows that he not only has a skill of creating dreamy love songs but also a talent at making groovy tunes with a socially conscious message. In both these songs he questions himself and society with lyrics such as "Papa said son it's the land of the free, as he broke his back trying to make ends meet."-Unaware and "It doesn't feel right that I was born white....I don't lose sleep for kids sewing my sheets, or the ones snitching my sneaks, as long as I can buy 'em both cheap," - American Privilege.The New York Times has compared his work to the likes of Donny Hathaway, Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.

Allen Stone Tiny Desk Concert

Allen Stone has performed live on Conan, Ellen DeGeneres and American Idols to sing duets with contestants. He has also collaborated with the likes of Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Andy Grammer, Deron Johnson(Miles Davis' keyboardist and Raphael Saadiq's rhythm section. Stone is bringing new generation soul to the ears of this generation and it would feel like a sin to not to lend an ear. Stream his music on all major platforms.

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Consider Me