Jon Allen & The Luna Kings - A two night special

Jon Allen is one of those rare British singer-songwriters who seems to belong to another age — a man with the voice of a smoky late-night bar, the storytelling instincts of a street poet, and the musical bloodline of classic rock, soul, blues, Americana and beautifully crafted British songwriting. Born in Winchester, raised in South Devon, and later trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Allen began writing songs as a teenager and has steadily built a career on substance rather than hype: great songs, great musicianship, and a voice once described again and again as "whisky-soaked". His own official biography places his influences firmly in the world of Free, The Faces, Van Morrison and Elton John — but what makes Jon Allen special is that he never feels like a copy of anyone. He takes that lineage and turns it into something very much his own.

The wider public first began to catch on when his song "Going Home" was used in a major Land Rover television campaign, helping push his music into homes that may not yet have known his name. His debut album Dead Man's Suit followed in 2009, and became the record that opened the door: critically acclaimed, full of soulful grit and melodic confidence, and important enough to lead to an appearance on BBC's Later… with Jools Holland. From there, Allen's songs found their way into film, television, advertising and radio, while his reputation grew as a songwriter's songwriter — the kind of artist other musicians quietly admire.

Across the years, Allen has built a serious body of work: Dead Man's Suit, Sweet Defeat, Deep River, Blue Flame, …Meanwhile, A Heightened Sense of Everything, and 2025's dark, cinematic Seven Dials. That is not a catalogue of throwaway albums — it is a long road of craft, character and survival. Along the way, he has toured with or supported major names including Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Seal, Dionne Warwick and Damien Rice, and Wardlaw Music notes that his music has enjoyed global success through syncs in film, TV and advertising.

Then came The Luna Kings — the band that allows Jon Allen's songs to breathe, swing, roar and smoulder in a live setting. Made up of top-level session players, The Luna Kings give Allen's material that big, loose, soulful, road-seasoned feel: part Americana, part British rock, part bar-room blues, part late-night confession. Amsterdam's Melkweg described his sound as built on Americana, roots and blues influences, with a soulful whisky-soaked voice and a striking gift for melody, while also calling him a "captivating and hugely entertaining live act."

By 2025, Allen had entered one of the most ambitious creative chapters of his career with Seven Dials, an album inspired by the seedy underworld of 18th-century London. In interview, he explained that the spark came from visiting the old police cells at Bow Street Museum and becoming fascinated by the Bow Street Runners and the lawless streets of old London. He recorded and produced the album himself in his North London home studio, making it a deeply personal, self-contained artistic statement.

Reviews around Seven Dials picked up on just how atmospheric and fully realised this new chapter was. Rockshot Magazine called it "a masterclass in turning history into heartache — and finding beauty in the bleak," while also noting that the album was written, performed and produced entirely by Allen himself. Northern Exposure quoted Allen describing his own music with typical humour: "If you like heartfelt lyrics, raspy vocals, and the occasional existential crisis set to melody, I might just be your guy!"

And now, in 2026, Jon Allen & The Luna Kings return to Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre for a very special two-night October residency. This is exactly the kind of artist BMAAC was built for: songs with depth, a voice with scars, a band with soul, and a tiny room where there is nowhere for the magic to hide. Two nights only. Up close. No barriers. No theatre distance. Just Jon Allen, The Luna Kings, and sixty lucky souls inside one of the most intimate music rooms in the country. Tickets are still available — but for something this special, they won't stay that way for long.