When Your Sky Is Gray, I Will Give You Blue

Allen Stone’s orbit is one that I fell into by just showing up at one of his shows in 2018. I ended up seeing him twice that year, and it fired up an absolute adoration for this amazing man and musician. Then, just like that, twice in one year turned into a dry spell. An eight-year dry spell, to be specific. I don’t know what happened. Maybe he was coming to town, and I just missed the shows, or maybe he took a break from visiting us up here in the Twin Cities. Either way, I never forgot about the feeling of seeing Allen Stone live, but moved on to other acts. When I saw his name pop up on the calendar for The Dakota in downtown Minneapolis, I knew it was a show I had to go to, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Allen Stone hails from Washington state. He has been making music since 2010 and has definitely made waves across many different scenes since then. His sound is not my typical cup of tea, but it is absolutely lovely and stunning. It’s this very soulful, poppy R&B style that leans into everything from country to jam-band tendencies. Although I do like his music, I’ll be the first to admit that that’s not what got me hooked on this man. What got me hooked was his energy. Allen Stone encourages everyone at any of his shows to be their true selves. Don’t hide, don’t hold back. If you want to dance, dance. If you want to cry, cry. If you want to sit there straight-faced like you hate the world, do it. As long as you are your true self, he is happy, and a happy Allen Stone means a happy night for everyone in his presence.

The sold-out (or nearly sold-out —it was packed, and I don’t think I saw a single empty seat) Dakota got to see every side of Allen during his set on Tuesday night. You got to see the super fun and bombastic side when he played songs like “Back to the Swing.” You’ve got to get a peek into his influences with the covers he played, like “Fire and Rain” from James Taylor and “Ride Like the Wind” from Christopher Cross. Personally, I really liked the bombastic side of “Back to the Swing,” but I think the most moving part of the set was when Allen came out solo for an encore and performed “A Father’s Song.” This touching, truly stunning track is one Allen wrote for his kids. You could hear a pin drop in the room, and after the song, an audience member shouted out, “Why do you have to make me cry?!” This spurred a super cute interaction in which Allen explained that it’s hard to keep it together while performing this song. Still, if one audience member starts crying, Allen is going to start crying, then the rest of the audience is going to cry, and, ultimately, the show would turn into just one big cryfest. Honestly, I would have loved to take part in that because, given the week I’ve had, crying just feels good, but I appreciated how Allen took this super beautiful moment and added his own personality to it. It didn’t diminish the beauty of the song or the emotion in the air, but it just made you remember that life can be sad and happy at the same time.

Another moment that really had me laughing and put the spotlight on Allen Stone’s infectious energy was the encore. Like every rockstar, Allen and his band left after a set that lasted about fourteen songs. I had cheated and looked up the setlist before the show, so I knew that it wasn’t over, but you could definitely feel a bit of disappointment and depression take over the audience with the people who thought the show was really done. Within just about a minute or two, Allen came back out and quickly took to the microphone. He instantly apologized. He admitted that his leaving the stage and leaving the audience thinking he wasn’t going to come back was a lie, and he felt bad about that. He admitted that it was nice to escape for a sip of water and to shake it out a bit, but he also just felt terrible that he had lied to the fine folks of Minnesota. To say this was a charming moment would be a painful understatement. Again, Allen Stone is quirky, he’s fun, he’s him, and I love that you got to see every side of him from the tenderness shown during “A Father’s Song” to this moment of slight hilarity and an insane amount of heart.

It wasn’t just Allen Stone on stage. An absolutely stellar backing band joined Allen. In true “me fashion”, I wasn’t quick enough to jot the band members’ names down, and I apologize for that, but every single musician that graced the Dakota stage on Tuesday night absolutely deserves their own standing ovation. This band somehow didn’t just sit in the background, but also didn’t overpower Allen at the same time. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen such a talented band, but it’s one of those things I really appreciate, and I wish it happened at every show. It doesn’t just show talent; it shows respect from both the band and Allen.

Allen Stone is currently on tour as the opening act for Chris Stapleton. He will be performing both Wednesday and Thursday night at the Mystic Lake Amphitheater as part of that tour. Allen and his band could have easily taken Tuesday night off to rest and prepare for the back-to-back shows; instead, they decided to treat Minneapolis to a super lovely and intimate night, and it was an absolute honor to get to experience that.