Allen Stone

Raised in the small town of Chewelah, Washington, Stone grew up on gospel music, spending much of his childhood as a pastor’s son watching his parents lead their congregation in song. By the time he was 11, he’d picked up a guitar, wrote his first song and soon began self-recording demo tapes to pass along to classmates. After dropping out of college, he moved to Seattle to kickstart his music career, often driving up and down the west coast in his ’87 Buick to play any and all gigs he could.

He quickly developed a reputation for powerful live shows, playing up to 200 dates a year. And, in the years since, Allen has built a devoted following on the strength of his near-magical ability to channel a weight-of-the-world sensitivity into his songs while still radiating hope and promise. His easy grace in blending everything from edgy soul-pop and earthy folk-rock to throwback R&B and Parliament-inspired funk is reflected in his five full length albums – from his 2010 self-released debut album Last To Speak to 2021’s APART, an intimate album recorded in a converted cabin during the pandemic. Earlier this year Allen debuted his latest single, “A Bit of Both”, a soulful description of the duality that life can bring, on The American Song Contest.

Stone has continued to keep a constant touring schedule and has appeared numerous times on national television including performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Today Show, was a mentor on American Idol, and just recently participated in The American Song Contest.