The Road Home with allen Stone
The Road Home with Allen Stone
BY JEFF FIJOLEK
Allen Stone has traveled the world performing his unique blend of soul and R&B music. He has played to crowds at Radio City Music Hall and the Gorge, Hyde Park in London and Grant Park in Chicago. This summer, the 36-year-old Stone is opening for Grammy Award winner Chris Stapleton in 12 cities across the country. At each stop, the number of people in attendance will vastly outnumber the population of 2,500 in Stone’s hometown of Chewelah.
Nowadays, Stone lives in Spokane with his wife, Tara, and their two children, but his connection to Chewelah, just a 50-mile trip north on US-395, remains strong. “I can’t leave Washington state. I’ve considered it many times and there’s just something in the air and something in my being that kind of draws me back,” Stone says. “When you’re coming down the hill into Chewelah, seeing the valley, there’s an emotion that comes up and so many memories. So many life lessons, so many relationships, so many summers, so many bad decisions, so many relatively good decisions.”
We traveled to Chewelah with Stone and Chef Chad White, who spent summers working on his family’s dairy farm in nearby Addy as a child. The two have become friends in recent years after first meeting in 2015 at a music festival in San Diego.
“I was just like this guy is very different than anything I’ve ever heard and there’s this level of connection that I have to his music that I’m not recognizing, but it’s very soulful,” says White of their shared history. “There’s this body to it. There’s depth to it. Like I’m somehow rooted to it and I have no idea how.”
Before exploring the town and sharing some of their favorite places to visit, the two sat down for a chat at Chewelah’s Quartzite Brewing to share thoughts and memories tied to food and music all while discussing the Stone Family Field Trip.
“It originally started as a potluck of sorts for all of my friends,” says Stone. “As a touring musician, a lot of my friends live far and wide and I get to see them in really distracted quick moments at music festivals. The thought was to have a musician-run music festival, invite-only, very small in an attempt to have space and time for those individuals.”
Scheduled for the end of September at Liberty Lake’s Zephyr Lodge, Stone has set out to put together an intimate music festival filled with performances from friends he has made over the years, complemented by yoga, sound baths and a menu prepared by White.
“Last year when we opened it up to the public, I called the best chef that I know and I said ‘Can you please add your talents and capabilities to this festival and level it up.’ And against all odds in 110-degree heat, we managed to bring together many friends and national touring musicians for a really special experience in the Inland Empire.”
Appropriately, White is drawing inspiration from his restaurants, Zona Blanca Ceviche Bar, TT’s Old Iron Brewery and BBQ and Uno Más Taco Shop, to put together a menu of “greatest hits” that is sure to please festival attendees. Tijuana-style street dogs, a vegan watermelon salad and grilled cheese sandwiches loaded with carnitas are just a few of the new items that will join the ‘Bama Bird, a grilled chicken with white barbecue sauce, the most popular item at last year’s Stone Family Field Trip.
“It’s fun because I’m allowed to be creative,” says White. “People are going to be having a good time, throwing back a few wet ones, and we’re trying to keep them well nourished so they can focus and enjoy the good food, good music and good company.”
Finishing his beer, Stone took a moment to reflect on his hometown, his family, a lifetime of connections, and why the event means so much to him as he sets off on another cross-country tour.
“There’s something incredibly special about the community–you can touch the corners and the portions of the garden that you can actually water. And regardless of how far our reach is, regardless of how many folk you can touch outside of your community, the real nourishing aspects of life come from your home.”