West Bend, Wi – When nationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Jay Allen comes to West Bend in March 2026, for a speaking engagement hosted by Cedar Community, he will bring far more than a concert or a polished speech. He is bringing a lived story. One shaped by cornfields, sacrifice, music, and first-hand experience of dealing with Alzheimer’s disease.
Allen’s connection to Alzheimer’s is deeply personal. His mother, whom he describes as the emotional center of his childhood, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at just 51 years old. She died in 2019, but her presence continues to guide both his music and his mission.
“I grew up in the middle of nowhere, Iowa,” Allen said. “We would literally walk out our back door and see cornfields for miles and miles and miles.” Life was not easy. After his father’s restaurant failed, the family went bankrupt.
Allen remembered having less than most kids around him, financially speaking, but never lacking what mattered most.
“Mom was forced to work two and three jobs,” he said. “I always wondered how she did it. She just always seemed so happy and joy-filled.” He recalled asking her as a child what she believed her purpose on Earth was. “Without blinking, without hesitating, she said, ‘To be your mom.’”
That selflessness defined her, he said. “Even though we didn’t have a lot financially, I was wealthy in love from my mother.”
The first unmistakable signs of Alzheimer’s came years later, after Allen moved to Nashville and began building a professional music career. A phone call from his father changed everything.
“She had gone to the same place at work for years,” Allen said. “She could do that drive blindfolded. But she called my dad and said, ‘I’m on the side of the road. Please come pick me up. I don’t know where I’m at.’ She was scared to death and crying.”
Shortly after, she was diagnosed. But for Allen, the reality did not fully land until he saw her in person months later, when his parents drove to Nashville so he could spend time with her before the disease progressed further.
“When my dad opened the door and my mom walked in, that look on her face shook me,” he said. “I always say it broke something inside of me that can never be healed. She looked at me like I was a stranger. I was her only son.”
Allen calls that moment the day he lost his mother, even though she was still alive.
What followed, however, became the spark for a global movement rooted in music. One night in Nashville, Allen took his mother to a live music venue. When the door opened and she heard the band, something remarkable happened.
“My very sick mother took one step inside, heard the music, and everything about her changed,” he said. “It was like she came back. Her eyes sparkled. She wanted to dance.”
As they danced together, she leaned in and said, “Oh, Jay, I’ve missed you. It’s so good to see you.”
“That’s when I felt my mother come back for a minute,” Allen said. That moment inspired his song Blank Stares, which has since reached more than one billion views worldwide and become an anthem for families navigating Alzheimer’s and dementia. “That’s really where this journey began and the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
Allen has since dedicated his life to that fight, raising more than $160 million for Alzheimer’s and dementia-related causes and using his platform to shine light not only on patients, but on caregivers. Music, he says, is the bridge.
“For me, the power of music is everything,” Allen said. He has witnessed it repeatedly, including during a music therapy session at a care community tied to a major fundraising gala in Las Vegas.
“There was a woman who came in very sick, head down, not present at all,” he said. “I stood right in front of her, started playing a fun song, cheering her on.” Suddenly, the woman stood up, smiled, kicked off her shoes, and danced with her husband.
“They laughed and twirled around for the entirety of that song and the next song. Everyone had tears in their eyes.”
“For me, that was the highlight,” Allen said. “Even more than standing in front of millionaires and billionaires the next night. I got to give a husband and wife a moment back.”
That philosophy shapes what Allen hopes people take away from his appearance in West Bend.
“For me, it’s community,” he said. “I don’t call them followers or fans. I call it community.” Through social media and live events, Allen has watched people connect, share their stories, and realize they are not alone.
“Especially with dementia and Alzheimer’s, people start to believe the lie that they’re alone,” he said. “It’s embarrassing. It’s scary. Insurance doesn’t cover everything. People feel isolated.”
By openly sharing his story, Allen hopes to make a difference. “I’m the guy that gets on stage and blares his story about his mom and my loss,” he said. “It creates a space where people can understand they’re not alone.”
That message is central to his Living Gracefully Tour, which brings intimate concerts and storytelling directly into senior living and care communities, including Cedar Community. At each stop, Allen honors caregivers, often bringing them on stage.
“I talk about the caregiver that took care of my mom on her dying day,” he said. “I want them to know how much they matter.”
Ultimately, Allen’s commitment is lifelong. “I made a promise to my mother on her deathbed that I would do this until my dying breath,” he said. “Until we find a cure or until it’s the end of my life.”
When he takes the stage in West Bend for the event, Becoming a Champion for Others | Music that Moves Millions, Allen will aim to connect with every leader who is inspired to serve others.
