For over a decade, Kurt Allen has been fusing gritty old school blues, vintage soul, swampy bayou funk, and even a splash of NOLA jump, into a relentless blues-rock machine. His songwriting reflects craftsmanship honed by years of commitment, and his studio albums take the listener on an unforgettable ride to almost every corner of the blues universe. A true road warrior with a hardcore touring schedule that saw him playing 150-200 dates a year, Allen - like everyone else - was derailed for most of 2020-21 as the live music world shut down, but as soon as things began to open back up he was burning up the miles all over the lower 48. And, by the good graces of the Blues gods, he also ended up with a stellar live recording from The Red Shed in Hutchinson, Kansas. "I hadn't planned on doing a live record, but since we've been able to get back out on the road more consistently I've gotten in the habit of recording our shows at the venues I know have great sound - mostly so I can go back and critique things and make mental notes on changes to make everything better. Some nights you just know that what you're doing is special, there's a feeling in the room when everything's firing on all cylinders. I felt that way about this show when we were playing, but when I went back and listened to the tapes it was even better than what I remembered and I knew I had to put it out as a live album." Peppered with songs from his studio releases, along with new and previously unrecorded songs, Live From The Red Shed is classic modern blues-rock. Over nine tracks Allen flexes his guitar muscle in a way only hinted at on previous studio releases. The boogie-stomp of "Graveyard Blues" to the Texas juke of the brand-new "Bad Love," all the way through to a searing cover of "Death Letter" (Son House), that goes into the album closing "Better Think Twice" that would be right at home on any album recorded at the Fillmore East, Live From The Red Shed is a testament to the power of live Blues.
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