The Fat Dandelions | Free at the Pavilion

Name: The Fat Dandelions | Free at the Pavilion
Start: 2025-10-16T18:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-10-16T20:00:00-07:00
Location: 124 W Broadway, Eugene, OR, United States, Oregon 97401

Schedule

Thu Oct 16 2025 at 06:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

124 W Broadway, Eugene, OR, United States, Oregon 97401 | Eugene, OR

The Jazz Station will be collaborating with The Lane County Farmers Market to provide four FREE concerts at the Pavilion this summer. The third Thursday of every month -- July 17th, August 21st, September 18th, and October 16th -- find us at the Pavilion (8th and Oak) playing from 6 – 8 pm.

Devin Perez trumpet
Shane Allen piano
Austin Bertak guitar
Alexandre Pabst bass
Nika Jin drums

Named in honor of her parents' love of foraged spring greens, The Fat Dandelions is Nika Jin and Shane Allen's tribute to buoyant and raucous swing music. The Dandies are dedicated to dance music: upbeat jazz standards and well-loved folk and pop tunes all played with an energetic swinging inflection.

Possessed of a buoyant and unmistakable touch at the keyboard, Shane Allen's approach to joyous, communal music-making builds upon a vibrant working relationship with dancers (vernacular jazz, ballet, and contemporary) that he has cultivated for nearly two decades. He and his quartet weave supposed opposites into a spellbinding whole, combining a trickster's refusal of strict categories with a folk musician's regard for durable tradition. In their hands, contemporary and classic standards crackle with life, humor, and an undeniable beat. Shane has been a performing pianist and dedicated student of American music since his time at the acclaimed High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX, where he was blessed with the opportunity to learn from modern giants and classic masters, including Robert Glasper, Jason Moran, Helen Sung, Eric Harland, Chris Dave, Dennis Dotson, Sebastian Whittaker, and many others. He continued his studies on scholarship at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where he recorded a piano feature that won the 2011 Downbeat Magazine Award for Best Large Ensemble. Shane lived in Minnesota for 8 years, constantly performing in the local jazz community, accompanying with St. Paul Ballet and the St. Olaf Dance Department, and moonlighting on the avant-noise house show circuit.

In 2019, he moved to Eugene, where he now performs and teaches locally. He serves as the music coordinator for Track Town Swing (a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to Lindy Hop and vernacular jazz dance), as an accompanist at the University of Oregon Dance Department, and as pianist/organist at First Presbyterian Corvallis.