Country singer Gary Allan performs Dec. 1 at the Inn of the Mountain Gods
Singer, musician and song-writer Allan says the songs he performs all contain a little bit of of his life experiences
- Allan has lined up a play list of his most popular songs
Whenever Gary Allan is scheduled to perform at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, he hopes there’s enough down time to squeeze in a round of golf.
With fall-like weather in the Ruidoso area, he may be able to hit the links this year. Allan will be performing at 8 p.m., Dec. 1, at the Inn’s casino on the Mescalero Apache Reservation adjoining the Village of Ruidoso.
In a recent interview with the Ruidoso News, Allan said he began playing guitars and singing at an early age.
“My dad always had music playing in the house and I started playing at a young age. He set up amps, guitars and microphones in our living room and refused to put them away,” Allan said. “He said if they were out, we would play more and he was correct. I would play every day after school. We started a band and played all around Orange County, Calif. I was offered my first record deal at age 15, but my dad would not let me sign it. He said I had to quit imitating people and find my own voice. Again, he was right. It took me a while, but I found my voice and my style and then I found a record deal.”
Although his range would have allowed Allan to follow nearly any music genre, country music was part of his family.
“My Dad loved traditional country music, Willie, Waylon, Buck, Merle and Cash,” Allan said. “They were always playing at home and that is what we started playing as well. I knew that was what I wanted to do, but I also love all kinds of music.”
From the beginning, he enjoyed writing songs, something he still does.
“I do write a lot of my own songs,” Allan said. “Sometimes I have an idea and start writing the lyrics first and sometimes it is a melody that I just keep playing over and over, and it goes from there. I typically write with the same group of people and they do the same thing. Then when we are all together, we all put our ideas together and develop the song.
“I typically only sing songs that I can relate to or that I have actually lived, so I think there is a little of me in all of my songs.”
He said though it varies, some of the most requested songs by audiences and most popular performed live are “Watching Airplanes,” “Right Where I Need to Be,” “Every Storm” and “It Ain’t the Whiskey.”
Some of the musicians in his band have performed with Allan for 16 to 18 years.
“We’ve had some come and go, but we are like a family on the road,” Allan said.
And they spend plenty of time on the road.
“We pretty much tour every month of the year,” he said. “We take off the week or so leading up to Christmas, and then pick back up in mid-January.
“The traveling is fun, but it also is tiring. When we have long runs, there is nothing better than getting home to your family and sleeping in your own bed.”
Allan has won over fans, peers and critics with his signature blend of smoldering vocals, rebellious lyrics and raucous live performances. While becoming a force on the country music scene, he remains true to his artistic voice each step of the way.
He re-signed with Universal Music Group Nashville in 2016, the label home for his entire 21-year career. He is currently finishing up work for his upcoming EMI Nashville release. His last album, “Set You Free,” topped the Billboard 200 Pop Chart, a career first for Allan. The album also made its debut at the top of the Billboard Country Album chart for the fourth time in a row for the artist, and produced his fifth Number 1 country radio chart topper with “Every Storm Runs Out of Rain.”
The California native released his first album, “Used Heart for Sale,” in 1996, and since then has released eight additional studio albums, selling over 8 million albums. He’s been certified platinum on three back-to-back albums, and has been certified gold five times. Allan has five No. 1 hits on country radio, 14 Top 10 hits to his credit and amassed over 1.4 billion total streams.
He’s described as “dark and dreamy” in Entertainment Weekly, “soulful and rough around the edges” in Playboy and deemed a “maverick” by Rolling Stone.
He sells out venues as a headliner from New York to Los Angeles, appeared on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Live with Kelly and Michael” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” He also landed on the covers of Country Weekly, Pollstar and People magazine.