Music – Boston
Kevin Allred is a fierce performer, engaging audiences with a mix of humor and a heart-on-his-sleeve candor that is not readily available in today’s music scene. His live performances blend personal storytelling with raw emotion, all on top of a heavily strummed acoustic guitar and soaring, wide-range vocals. Think acoustic punk rock meets soul singing. If Amy Winehouse and Ryan Adams had a baby boy that listened to too many Motown records, Kevin Allred would be it.
Jennifer Layton of Indie-Music.com has described Allred as “earnest, yearning, angry, energized – even during the quieter ballads, he sounds like he couldn’t sit still if you nailed his sneakers to the floor.” His new album – Brave (Songs: 2005-2012) – harnesses that same live experience that has thrilled and moved listeners for years, into a collection of songs that forces the listener to both feel the intense pain Allred conveys while still proudly pumping their fist in the air: he sings for the outcasts, he rages, he preaches, he longs, he laments. And he makes it sound like he is sitting right in your living room with you while he does it.