To watch Jeff Allen play church songs on stage is one thing. To listen to him sing original pieces is quite another.
Jeff Allen, a Carrollton, IL transplant, is the product of a small-town farming community where steeples and saloons are ever present, cornfields and country roads endless. Values like hard work and faith collide with loneliness and longing. One wonders how Jeff would’ve expressed himself if he’d never gotten his first guitar.
That guitar was a Christmas gift from his aunt. Jeff was in 8th grade, and he immediately went to work learning how to play Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. It would be a few years before he got the hang of it.
In high school, however, he did the small-town circuit–four teens smashing their way through punk and rock cover songs in bars or cafes–with two different bands. Neither survived.
After high school he headed to Elmhurst College for one semester of music business. He ended up failing music theory and went home.
Later that year he played bass for a friend’s worship band as they toured the Midwest. In 2006 he released a project with Justin Aymer called “Jeff and Justin Band: Between Now,” which is a collection of original worship songs. And in 2007 he released his first ever solo record called “Rough Draft.”
He eventually ended up as worship leader at Christ Church in Fairview Heights, IL where he wrote two popular songs–”Holy Spirit Come” and “Prodigal Song.” Then, as if he needed to work through some issues outside of his worship role, Jeff started working on his first EP.
With just a guitar and his voice, Jeff plays through a series of songs about love, loneliness and the frustration baked into it all.
“Be Not Alone” is about feeling lonely when you are in love and in love when you are lonely. “I’m Not Fine” explores our response to failure while “Lonely Hearts” is about how small towns are great for raising families. But there’s a dark side: youth wants the big city.
The EP ends with “Many Miles” a song that tells the story of a man who spends weeks on the road–eager to get home to his lover.The slow pace of the melody makes you wonder if he’ll ever make it.
These are songs that would make Ryan Adams or Josh Ritter proud. That’s just fine with Jeff. He’s the folk crooner. The acoustic journeyman. Capable of making your feet jump. Capable of breaking your heart. Just depends on what he’s singing and where.
