Singer~Songwriter~Keyboardist
Allison brings her life-long devotion and passion for music to life every time she performs. In her own words "..performing music evokes passion and emotion in me like nothing else can. I've always been driven to express myself musically and have suffered from frustration and a sense of incompleteness when music was not part of my life." Her forte is layering of vocal harmonies that create intricate, beautiful arrangements.
She can provide an evening filled with music from her current repertoire that includes hundreds of pieces focusing on pop and rock, but spanning rhythm and blues, country, blues and jazz standards.
Her live music performances include fronting "Blues Planet Project," "The Planets," "Soleil" "Allison Hawkins" as the lead vocalist, lead vocalist for "Good Wood", background vocalist for singer/songwriter Naomi Tobias, and vocalist and bassist for "Manic Scenes". She also sharpened and expanded her vocal skills by performing in musical theatre, choirs, jazz vocal ensembles and accapella groups.
Allison's ability to wrap her audience in her music stems from her devotion to music and the study of music on many levels. She studied music theory, ear training, sight singing, voice and string bass, while minoring in music at California State University. Her musical education also includes private voice training and vocal performance classes as well as bass, guitar and piano lessons. She blends what she feels are the best musical and performance styles of Bonnie Raitt, Sarah McLachlan, James Taylor, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Nicks and many others.
Allison knows what is required to produce quality performances. Her background includes working for talent agencies, concert promoters, an outdoor amphitheatre and recording studios. For example, she worked for "Triad Artists" assisting in all aspects of live performance booking. In addition, she organized the grand opening and worked subsequent seasons for the Shoreline Amphitheatre. She also worked in concert production for music promoter Bill Graham in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Allison is currently singing with the Denver based outfit, The Planets, and participates in ongoing recording projects with Leaping Rabbit Studios and Tree Daddy Productions.
Helen Allison Hawkins has been the main dish in dishing up powerful balads, sultry blues and enticing rock and roll since the last decade. She has employed some of the top musicians in the Rocky Mountain Region for bands and projects, and remains the centerpiece for The Planets.
Allison co-founded Tree Daddy Productions with Ted Mentry and a brand new album was released on July 16th, 2010, entitled "EP." The tracks can be heard, in their entirety, on the Original Music page. Enjoy!