Dexter Allen

Dexter Allen was born in 1970 near Crystal Springs, Mississippi, and raised on a farm. His father was a pastor and his grandfather a head deacon, so church music came first. His Uncle Porter taught him guitar at 10, and at 12 he was playing bass in his father's gospel group, The Christian Travelers. He also played with The Dixon Singers and The Robinson Brotherhood, and he heard the blues at his grandmother's weekend fish fries.

In 1995 he moved to Jackson and signed with the local label Airtight Records, singing and playing with the Airtight Band. He then joined Bobby Rush's touring band as lead guitarist and bandleader. He calls that the move that launched him into the blues; his most memorable gig with Rush was in Yulin, China.

He went solo in 2006. Bluezin' My Way (2008) brought Jackson Music Awards for male vocalist and, the next year, Entertainer of the Year. He was the first artist other than Rush to release an album on Deep Rush Records: Bluez of My Soul (2014) and Trilogy of My Bluez (2015). Live From Ground Zero Blues Club (2018) was filmed in Clarksdale and introduced by club co-owner Morgan Freeman. Both it and Keep Moving On (2021) made the Grammy consideration list. In 2014 the Mississippi Legislature honored him with House Concurrent Resolution No. 54. He won a Jus' Blues Entertainer Award in 2018.

On screen, he played bassist Sam Thomas in the James Brown film Get On Up. In the studio, he played guitar on and engineered Bobby Rush's All My Love For You, winner of the 2024 Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album.

He has served on the board of The Blues Foundation and has worked with Blues in the Schools since 2010. Recent singles include Still Called the Blues (2024), Shame and Get Out of My Way (2025). His song Hooked is on the 2025 Jacktown USA compilation.