Long before there was a band name, Billy Allen and Jay Burgess were occasional session musicians at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals — and that pedigree hasn’t left them. It shows up in their originals, and it shows up just as clearly in their covers: over the years, this band has paid homage to both Ben E. King and Wilson Pickett, two names carved into the foundation of Southern soul.
That lineage was on full display July 9 at the River Steps at Neuhoff, part of Lightning 100’s River Steps Concert Series overlooking the Cumberland. Every song in the set was one the crowd was definitely familiar with — “Invited,” “It’s Okay,” “If You Want Me to Stay,” and “Tears Keep on Falling” all made the cut, with a Ben E. King “Stand By Me” cover tucked into the middle and “I Thought You Wanted Him” closing things out. Earlier that same day, the band had been on Lightning 100 explaining where songs like these come from: “These songs started live in the garage, then we went into the studio to put them down live.”
That studio session has a name now — Live at Muscle Shoals Sound — and it’s already yielding results. “If You Want Me to Stay” dropped March 27, followed by “Tears Keep on Falling” on June 12, both capturing the band the way they actually sound in a room: raw, unfussy, garage-born.
Billy Allen + The Pollies are about to trade riverside stages for amphitheaters — they open for Alabama Shakes starting July 24 in Tacoma, with more dates through late summer. Catch them before the rooms get bigger, and find tour info at billyallenandthepollies.com.
A curated pick by Planet Mars Music Editorial Staff and crafted with the help of AI