We were lucky to catch up with Jordan Allen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jordan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I have been able to make a full-time living from my creative work.

In 2018, I was working as a part-time teller at a bank. My wife had just started working for herself in the fitness industry. Up to that point, my job had really worked with me on asking off for shows. But they started to crack down and I had to cancel shows left and right to go into work. I fell into a slight depression, and my wife noticed. One day she just said “Why don’t you quit? Working for myself has been the most freeing thing for me, and I want you to experience it too.” So, I set a financial goal for myself in the month of October and decided if I booked enough shows to hit that goal, I would quit. I worked my last day at the bank on September 28th, 2018 and haven’t looked back.

Since then, of course I have had peaks and valleys. There are some months that I have no clue what we are going to do. And other months we are able to save a good amount of money. My wife and I often paraphrase scripture to each other to remind ourselves that God is faithful. We’ll say “If he feeds the birds, he’ll feed us”, referencing Matthew 6:26-34.

Knowing what I know now, I think I would have placed a heavier emphasis on creating content in my earlier years, and consistently posting it. I have a disdain for social media, but recently I have put the time and effort into it and have come to realize the benefits that can come from it. I have learned to find my voice through it. And I wish I had been trying to do that for years at this point, instead of months.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Jordan Allen. I am a husband, a father, a sinner saved by Grace, and a singer/songwriter. I fronted a band called Jordan Allen & the Bellwethers for 11 years, and released 4 studio albums. I have recently started my own solo project, under just “Jordan Allen”. The debut single on that project is set to release February 12th.

Growing up, I remember my dad playing guitar around the house and at church. He’d play songs like “Last Kiss”, and “Secret Agent Man”. I started playing the drums around age 6, guitar around age 14, and started singing and songwriting around age 15. Since then, I’ve never really thought about doing anything else with my life.

I live and was raised in an area of the country where I feel like it is expected to sound “Country”, whatever that means. While I have plenty of country influence, I would not identify myself in that realm. Or really any realm. What I can say about my music, is that I really enjoy telling stories. It forces me to think about situations from all angles. And I really enjoy production of the days of old. So when I go into the studio, I have those retro approaches in mind. From guitar tones, down to how we record drums. And I think collectively, that makes my music come out with a throw back tone. I think there’s something about my music that reminds folks of music of a by-gone era. I, myself, have always been told I was an old soul. I can remember folks telling me that from as early as I have memories. I would say that part of myself is heavily reflected in my music.

I have done many things in my music career that I am proud of. But, I would say that some of my most proud moments have been on the stage at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN. My former band, Jordan Allen & the Bellwethers played that stage twice as a featured artist. I was fortunate enough to play several times as a writer on the writers night roster on Sunday nights. And I was incredibly blessed to be able to play a writers round in 2017 with three seasoned and talented writers- Richard Leigh, Keith Sykes, and Roger Cook. It may be the one of the only places that could still make me nervous to my core.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

This is something I have thought about a lot in recent years. I think when I first started out, a large part of my driving force was to be recognized on a mass scale for the art I was creating. And while I still think that would be great- because who wouldn’t want to be able to sell out an arena?- I think my main driving forces has become not only more attainable, but more direct. These days I would say my driving force is to be able to create a better and better life for my wife and children. I have seen God do that through my music in the last 5 years, so I know he can continue to bless me there. My idea of “making it” currently is for us to be able to buy a home, or buy land and build. For me, that would feel like I have truly made it. And from there, I know there will be another goal driving what I do. But for now, I am focussing on that.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

This one’s fresh. In the month of December (2024), I made the call to cease to release music as “Jordan Allen & the Bellwethers” and to start releasing music as “Jordan Allen”. That was a tough call. For me, I have always tried to create a band feel as opposed to a “hired gun” atmosphere with the people I played music with. I wanted the musicians donating their time to my project to really feel invested in this thing. So everything I put out, whether it was just me or not, I released under the umbrella of Jordan Allen & the Bellwethers.

Recently, I’ve been presented with a handful opportunities to record and release music in scenarios I have not been presented with. It would make more sense for me to have the freedom to work on these projects under solely my name. On top of that, my band changed a lot this year. I was consistently not having the same folks, the “Bellwethers”, as my backing band due to schedule conflicts. I think both of these things combined forced me to think about a fresh start and a name change. It’s something I have incredible anxiety about, but I have prayerfully considered and am hopeful. I have a TON of new music ready to release this year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jordanallenandthebellwethers.com
• Instagram: @jaandthebws
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordanallenandthebellwethers
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jordanallenmusic12

Image Credits

ja + bw (48 of 58)- Daniel Campbell
IMG_4586- Laurel County Public Library
IMG_4577- Channing Price
IMG_2278- Cody Whitaker
DSCO3038- Josh Felts