Our Daily Show Interview! Kurt Allen Band Coming to Hawg Pit
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GRAFTON - The Kurt Allen Band will travel to Grafton for a show at Hawg Pit BBQ this weekend.
From 2–6 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, 2025, the band will pause their cross-country travels for a show in Grafton. Kurt Allen himself shared that he looks forward to exploring Grafton and sharing their “Rockin’ the Blues Across America” tour with the Riverbend region.
“We’re going to go all different directions,” Allen said. “We’re going to give you some soul, we’re going to give you some funk, we’re going to give you some hard rock, we’re going to give you some blues and everything in between. My thing has always been, I kind of want to groove first. Got to be a little funky. It’s got to have groove to it, you know?”
Allen expressed his excitement to visit Grafton and experience the town. He noted that he has played in St. Louis before but has never spent much time in Grafton or the Riverbend region. He looks forward to getting to know the people and the town.
“We’re going to throw down. It’s going to be a great time,” he said. “We haven’t really had the opportunity to tour Grafton yet. It’s fairly close to St. Louis and I’ve spent a lot of time in St. Louis. It seems like a really cool, quaint little town. It seems like it’s a really cool place.”
Allen started playing music in coffeehouses as a teenager in Kansas City. He toured with metal bands and hard rock bands throughout the 1990s and 2000s, then eventually returned to blues music as his passion. Fifteen years ago, he “made the full-time commitment” to music and decided to focus all his time on writing and touring.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kurt Allen Band played over 200 shows a year. Allen said they’re working to return to their pre-pandemic numbers, but many venues have closed down since then. He is eager to visit Hawg Pit BBQ and play for the crowd there.
He added that while he doesn't “punch a clock” for someone else anymore, his music still requires a lot of “hustling.” He spends 16 hours a day on the phone or on the computer, seeking out new gigs, planning the tour and learning new music.
But he wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves the experience and gets “stir-crazy” when he’s stuck at home for more than a few days at a time.
“It’s just joy at all times,” he explained. “I love doing what I do. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I’ve told people for years, I would much rather spend eight hours in a van to go play three hours someplace than punch in a clock. It’s so much more satisfying. It’s more gratifying. It’s a job, but I don’t look at it as a job. I tell people I have a job where every five to seven minutes, people cheer for us.”
Allen encourages people to come out to Hawg Pit BBQ to experience the music for themselves this weekend. For more information about the Hawg Pit BBQ gig, click here. To learn more about the Kurt Allen Band, visit their official website at KurtAllenMusic.com.
