“He snuck in without people realizing. The only giveaway was the white feather tail in his hat”: How Stevie Ray Vaughan gave Bernard Allison the surprise of his life at his 16th birthday gig

Bernard Allison grew up the son of blues royalty, but made his own bones as a player – practicing for years before he revealed to his father, Luther Allison, that he could play.

Luther was, of course, a blues veteran and a contemporary of everyone from Howlin’ Wolf to Muddy Waters and Albert King. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree for Bernard – and growing up in the Allison household proved to be an education.

“When I was really young, no more than eight, my dad took us to New Orleans,” Bernard Allison remembers in a new interview with Guitar World. “I remember seeing this kid onstage, and I thought, ‘Wow, this guy sounds like Albert King…’ That was Stevie.”

Eight years on, Allison Jr. would go from admirer to peer, after a defeat turned into a victory like no other. As Allison explains, he was offered the chance to play support at SRV’s show at Illinois State University, but it didn’t work out.

“They removed us [from the show], and we ended up doing a grand opening at a blues club called Duffy’s Tavern [in the village of Peoria Heights, IL., instead],” he adds. “We accepted that.”

The gig coincided with his 16th birthday, meaning he couldn’t legally enjoy a glass of champagne to celebrate the venue’s opening or his big day – but a better gift lay ahead.

“So, it’s a grand opening, and my first major gig opening this new club. We’re on stage, and the place is jam-packed,” Allison says. “The owner runs up to us and says, ‘You have to stop…’ I was assuming we were fired, or playing too loud, you know?” [laughs]

“As I’m walking toward the dressing room, I see this bus go by, and I’m like, ‘What is this tour bus doing in Peoria Heights?’ I got to the dressing room, and there were Stevie and Double Trouble. He looked at me and said, ‘Happy birthday. You ready to play now?’

“They had to figure out how to get him on the stage because there was no way to get him through that crowd.”

Thankfully, the new venue had a work around for avoiding the inevitable mob at the sight of SRV. But he didn’t help himself.

“They had this little door, like a small cubby on the side of the stage, and that's where Stevie and the band snuck in without people realizing it,” Bernard explains. “The only giveaway was the white feather tail in his hat… but the place just went crazy. That was my 16th birthday, when I got to share the stage with Stevie and Double Trouble.”

Last year, The Outlaws' Henry Paul has recalled touring with a sober Stevie Ray Vaughan, dubbing him “a freak of nature.”