By Quin Robinson – June 9, 2025
“If You Want Me To Stay” by Billy Allen is Jayson’s DJ pick of the week!
Billy Allen + The Pollies is an Alabama-based band weaving together the sounds of classic rock, gospel, grunge, funk, soul, and more! First meeting at a bar eight years ago during a gig of Allen’s, lead singer Billy Allen, and The Pollies’ founder Jay Burgess would miss opportunities for collaboration despite the initial spark for their future project being born in the bar that night. It wouldn’t be until years later that the band would finally have a chance to work together during a tracking session recording Little Richard’s “Greenwood, Mississippi” at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals. According to Allen, “There was an immediate romantic musical connection.” The band is gearing up to release their new album, Black Noise. Recorded almost entirely during the pandemic, the album continues to defy odds and expand on their mind-melting genre-mixing sound, melding sounds from Bowie all the way to Wilson Pickett.
Billy Allen + The Pollies’ most recent offering might sound like it comes from a familiar place, but the nuances lie in the details. While the record sounds like something released in ’63, the clean and crisp production is absolutely a product of ’25. With lyrics that sound like something hidden somewhere in a journal of Al Green’s, Billy Allen + Pollies provide a refreshing take on a throwback sound that’s cut with just a little bit of everything but the kitchen sink! If you love acts like Durand Jones & The Indications, Thee Sacred Souls, and Leon Bridges, then this track’s for you!
Listen to “If You Want Me To Stay” below!
Tune in to 100.1 FM or lightning100.com all day to hear “If You Want Me To Stay” by Billy Allen + The Pollies, Jayson’s DJ Pick of the Week! Also, share your thoughts on the track by tagging #L100DJPicks on Twitter!
