Allen City Blues Festival draws 4,200 to event center

While the sunny suburban paradise of Allen isn't exactly known for the kind of down-on-your-luck suffering one normally associates with the blues, there seemed to be plenty of room for wailin' and moanin' at the city's first annual blues festival, held May 27 at the Allen Event Center.

The Texas-tinged five-act lineup, headlined by Virginia native and guitar master Robert Cray, touched upon a wide array of blues-informed genres. The energetic, classic rock-oriented Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown; the alternately energetic and rollicking blues rock of Ian Moore; the funk and soul grooves of Robert Randolph and the Family Band; and the surf-tinged retro revival of Dallas legend Jimmie Vaughn followed one another almost like a crash-course in blues-influenced 20th century musical trends.

In between sets, guests poured into the concourse of the venue to visit vendor booths offering products ranging from custom guitar pick necklaces to collectable records and music photos. The Texas Musicians Museum exhibited blues relics, including a shirt worn by Roy Orbison, an acoustic guitar owned and played by 1920s blues legend Blind Melon Jefferson and a guitar owned by Zuzu Bollin, a 1950s-era blues guitarist from Frisco.

On the patio, Joey Love, a blues guitarist known for his work with Wanda King, daughter Freddie King, the "Texas Cannonball" who recorded celebrated blues albums and singles for more than 20 years, performed acoustic blues standards and originals in between the main sets.

Plano native Amit Joshi was at the concert along with his wife and three children. He said the concert was his family's first dabble into the blues, though he saw Stevie Ray Vaughn open for The Who in the late 1980s.

"I just like how it's very spiritual," he said. "We saw Brett Michaels and it was high-energy, just a different vibe. In there, it's a little more mellow. It's great."

Herb Turner came from Grapevine with his grandson, Gabriel. Turner said he has been a fan of Cray for 20 years and the concert was his fourth time seeing him in concert.

"I think this is an excellent venue with a good family atmosphere," Turner said. "I couldn't bring [my grandson] just anywhere."

Tom Alexander, booking manager for the Allen Event Center, said the decision to do a blues festival came from a "gut feeling" that it would be the right type of event for Allen. The event, he said, drew 4,200 ticketholders to the 6,200-seat venue.

"Anybody who likes rock and roll, it all started with the blues, plus there are so many great blues players from Texas," he said. "I've always been a big fan of the blues, and when you get people on the bill [from Texas] like Jimmie Vaughn and Ian Moore and Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown ... it kind of makes it extra special."

Alexander said the festival also serves as a way to further exposure of the event center as a viable Dallas-area music venue.

"It brought all kinds of people who had never been to the building before," he said. "Just getting names like Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughn there attracted people from all over Dallas and Texas. We had people coming up from Austin and down from Oklahoma. So it definitely put us on the map as far as getting some serious talent in that market."

In September, the venue will host a concert by 1980s hitmakers Hall and Oates, an event that should further raise the profile of the venue, Alexander said.

"Bringing in shows that will cross all demographics is just a great thing," he said. "We're striving to continually bring in award-winning, A-list talent."

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