Cuddle Up With: Allen Stone

Cuddle Up With: Allen Stone

Allen Stone is a soul man. The Chewelah, WA native sings sexy soul music that is damn near impossible not to move your body to, and has enough swagger and charisma to warrant endless Justin Timberlake comparisons. He played for a packed house at the Crocodile in Seattle last Friday, July 8th, and absolutely killed it.

The show began with a stripped down mini-set of cover songs, including John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Road" and Ray LaMontagne's "Let It Be Me," backed up by fellow Seattle musicians Kris Orlowski and Ben Carson of Hot Bodies In Motion, among others. With a promise to "funk your shit up," he returned to the stage with a full band and set about making good on his vow. Booties were shaking and minds were blown. Allen Stone is one of the only musicians I've ever seen who appears to be wholly in his own skin onstage: you can tell just by the way that he sings and the way he moves that he's feeling every single thing he's singing in every single part of his body. There is not an ounce of him that appears to be faking it. He also plays the sexiest version of Bob Marley's "Is This Love"... EVER.

To witness an Allen Stone performance is truly something special. I watched an interview with Michelle Williams recently in which she was talking about what it was like to film some of the most difficult scenes in Brokeback Mountain, and she said: "I remember thinking... 'I want to be like water.' Strong enough to hold up a ship, but able to slip through your fingers." This statement is a perfect characterization of the way Allen Stone performs, in that his performances are fun and lighthearted and funky enough to wow even the most dour cynic, but there's also a level of vulnerability, a sort of willingness to be wounded, within the muscle of his performance. It's a tricky line to walk, but Allen Stone is able to project strength and vulnerability simultaneously, without ever coming off as prententious or sappy, and that is something worthy of praise.

Twitter: @allen_stone

Facebook: Allen Stone

image via Rachel K Sumner