When Davey Allen first propped his phone up in a Rochester stairwell to film an acoustic Alice in Chains cover, he figured it might be the dumbest thing he had ever done. A few posts later, those stairwell videos were pulling in thousands of views on TikTok and catching the attention of some of the most dedicated fans in rock. His voice carried the same grit and emotion that defined ’90s grunge, the kind of sound you feel as much as you hear.
TikTok Era
Allen didn’t plan on making a name for himself with Alice in Chains songs. He grew up listening to them, mixed in with Stone Temple Pilots, Goo Goo Dolls, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, and Skillet. But his first goal in life was education and football. He kicked from the time he was three, earned a Division 1 scholarship, tried out for the NFL, but eventually walked away from the sport. Music, which had been his hobby since the age of 12, quickly became the thing filling that space. “In the back of my mind I think I always knew I wanted to do music”
By summer 2024, Allen was hitting open mics, booking small gigs, and experimenting with videos in that stairwell. The first time he noticed the shift was when strangers in the comments started asking for full versions of songs. “Ever since my first ‘Nutshell’ video, people on social media have just fallen in love with my covers of Alice in Chains,” Allen says.
The Path of Time
Allen is now getting ready to release The Path of Time. This seven-track project pays tribute to Layne Staley, the late Alice in Chains front-man and one of the defining voices of 90s grunge. The lead single “Nutshell” comes out August 15, followed by “Man in the Box” in September and “Would?” in October. The full project will be out November 13.
The project’s title, The Path of Time, comes from a line in “Nutshell,” and Allen says it perfectly captures the legacy Layne left behind. “It’s been more than 20 years since Layne passed, but his music is still touching people today. I tried to capture that passage of time with the cover art as well and give it a 90’s, but modern, grunge feel.”
Allen teamed up with a full band including bassist Danny Faillo and drummer Corey Boise, plus a special collaboration with Josh Holland, another TikTok artist. “Josh actually followed me early on and loved what I was doing,” Allen says. “Getting him involved felt like the right move, especially to handle Jerry Cantrell’s parts on ‘Man in the Box.’”
Tracked live at Farmland Studios in Nashville, this tribute was crafted with producer and guitarist Adam Shoenfeld. “We sat there on YouTube just listening to Layne Staley isolated vocals trying to understand how he sang these songs and where he used vibrato, what note was it really, where did he distort his voice, every detail to really capture the way Layne sang these tracks on ours,” Allen recalls. “I always knew Layne was one of the best vocalists I’d ever heard, but this process gave me a whole new level of appreciation for his talent and the emotion he was able to sing with.” They recorded without a click track to give the songs a natural tempo and feel, just like the originals.
While The Path of Time stays true to Alice in Chains, Allen is already building out his own sound. It pulls from grunge and hard rock but also leans into country. “We’ve got songs inspired by Daughtry, 3 Doors Down, Staind, Alice in Chains, and even one I’m really excited about that could be a Skillet song,” he says. “I’m just writing what comes naturally to me and about things I feel like are part of my story.”
For Allen, making this record was about respect. “Alice in Chains fans are very protective over Layne’s music and people doing covers, which I understand; so for them to embrace my covers the way they did and ask for full versions really means a lot,” Allen says. “I feel really humbled that they feel like I can do Layne justice in these songs.” But his audience was not his only inspiration. Allen also dedicates this tribute to his sister, Jacqueline, who introduced him to this genre.
Davey Allen has come a long way from TikTok videos, playing open mics, to preparing a tribute album that’s already turning heads. With a relentless work ethic and a growing sound all his own, he’s just getting started, and the music world is watching to see where he goes next. To keep up with Allen, check out his website.
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Below you can listen to one of Davey Allen’s iconic stairwell cover that put him on the map.
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