Jon Christopher Allen

Photo of Jon Christopher Allen

The path that Jon Christopher Allen has taken to get to the point where he is at now has not been a straight one. The journey is evident in his music. Jon first picked up a guitar at age sixteen, and hasn't put it down since. He's spent the past decade honing his craft, making records in Austin, Texas and NYC and performing at legendary venues throughout the country. He has been featured on local and national media outlets like the Huffington Post, Fox News and KUT Austin and at various music festivals including "CMJ", where he was one of last year's headlining acts.

He has developed a fiercely devoted fan base, especially in and around Astoria, Queens, where he lives. He regularly performs to sing along crowds that not only know his lyrics, but can relate to his songs of love and life on a deeply personal level. The community that has taken shape around his music has become a living, breathing entity that has propelled him to new artistic heights.

His fourth studio album, "Keep a light On", is set to be released April 28th of this year. Recorded under the watchful eye of producer Mark Ambrosino under the Sojourn Record Label, this body of work distinguishes itself from anything that has come before it. "In the past I wouldn't perform my material before hitting the studio. I was afraid to expose a work in progress. I was afraid of looking bad. I've been performing the songs on this album for well over a year now. When you perform a song you know if it's right. You can tell by the way the crowd is responding and you can tell by the way you feel playing it. These songs have been shaped by my people. I'm taking this one from the street to the studio."

No musician likes to be asked who they sound like, and for Jon this is a truly difficult question to answer. He grew up listening to artists as diverse as Cat Stevens, Queen and Tupac Shakur, and his own music is a genre blending mix of rock, blues and soul that is distinctly his own. With his percussive guitar style, rich voice and hypnotic songwriting, he can captivate an audience in a way that few others can. Look for him to come to your city and onto your playlist in 2015!