Nashville, Tennessee
28 Years Old
Singer-Songwriter, Composer, Vocalist

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BIOGRAPHY

Some folks’ paths are determined for them before they are old enough to wonder what their paths should be. Such is the case with Allen Thompson. Thompson has been singing and telling stories for longer than he can remember. Judging by the responses to his albums and live performances, he won’t be stopping anytime soon.
Allen’s songwriting and performing abilities have been recognized and applauded by Relix Magazine, American Songwriter, and even CMT. His last release, 2009’s 26 Years, even made it to number 14 on jambands.com’s radio charts, showing that fans of the genre understand the statements Thompson is trying to make. Allen is pleased with the attention, but he takes it all in stride.
“I’m excited that 26 Years got such a good response from people. When I made the record, I was afraid to put it out. It’s nice to know these guys get what I’m doing. It’s also surprising. I didn’t expect the record to elicit much of a reaction from anyone. I thought it was too personal, too real,” he chuckles.
“Then again, the writers who inspired me made personal music for themselves and their friends with little concern for whether it would coincide with an executive’s idea of public demand. I can’t imagine The Band, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, The Grateful Dead, or Gary Davis sitting around in suits attempting to figure out what combination of music and lyrics would most impress folks from a marketing standpoint,” he adds.
It is precisely that attitude that draws listeners to Allen’s music. Thompson is an artist who treats his audience the way he wants to be treated: Like people, not consumers. Perhaps it’s not the wisest short-term business plan, but Allen Thompson didn’t choose this profession for the money. The first time you hear his sweet, soulful voice sail through one of his songs like the wind whistling through the mountains, you’ll realize he didn’t choose this profession at all. The profession chose him.

-Dr. T. N. Peters

LEVEL

semi-pro

GENRES

Alternative Country, Rock , Bluegrass

Contact

Management: Press Inquiries: Annissa Mason annissa@brookescompany.com
Publishing: Radio Inquiries: Leslie Rouffe leslie@songlinesmusic.com
Label: Roofbeam Records allenthompsonmusic@gmail.com
Booking: allenthompsonmusic@gmail.com
Administrative: Allen Thompson

P.R.O.

ASCAP

INSTRUMENTS

bass / acoustic guitar / electric guitar / vocals

INFLUENCES

Various people I know and people I will never know who have inspired me in one way or another...

I AM INTERESTED IN

in co writing in person
in networking with songwriters
in pitching songs to artist
in pitching songs to tv
in getting a record deal
in getting a publishing deal

I WRITE:

It's my second job

I Also Write:
by myself
with others
for myself
for others

I Prefer To Write:
lyrics
melody
music

experience >

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Relix Magazine JamOff! competition winner Sept./Oct 2008 Worldwide Songwriter's Association July 2008 Artist Spotlight "One of the best new artists to come out of the South in recent times..." - Chuck Leavell

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Legends: Bobby Braddock

In Nashville, most successful songwriters have a fairly short run. On hit, one year, two years, five years. Occasionally, we get one whose career approaches the length of a real career or, more often, one who has a few years success, then slips into oblivion, only to emerge again for another brief era of hit-making.

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Legends: Rickie Lee Jones

She speaks softly, not unlike the way she sings --soft, soulful passages, almost like secrets to the closest of friends --punctuated by bursts of exaltation. It's much like the span of emotion in her work, and in her new record, Balm in Gilead, which veers from the pure, naked heartbreak of "Bonfires" to the elation of "Old Enough," to the beautiful "Wild Girl," which celebrates the 21st birthday of her daughter, while simultaneously reflecting on the unchained fervor of her own wild days.

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Legends: Robert Earl Keen

As singer/songwriters go, Robert Earl Keen doesn't seem like the kind of artist who could honestly be accused of sloth. But despite a catalog choked with characters and conversations pulled from a colorful life, he makes that very claim on "Something That I Do," a track where he brags of his ability to not let work get in the way of an otherwise pleasant afternoon.

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Townes Van Zandt: Facets, Faults & Fractures

It's 10 o'clock at night on an abandoned Music Row. The year is 1985. In a third-floor office in an old house that serves as the offices for the Oak Ridge Boys' Silverline/Goldline Music Publishing, Steve Earle brings the chair he's leaning back in down hard, flipping his hair out of his eyes for emphasis.