Biography
Appalachianfunkyfolksyrastabluesman Mitch Barrett is one of Kentucky’s most sought-after and talented singer, songwriter, storytelling sons. Mitch’s music draws from his Appalachian heritage and the values it instilled: agrarian work ethic, simple living, the importance of family and celebrating the joys and the struggles of everyday life through music and song.
A keen life observer and riveting performer, Mitch Barrett songs deftly laces thought-provoking subject matter with a satirist’s sense of wit and irony. Whether he’s leading a workshop, headlining a Performing Arts Center, or playing a large festival, Mitch takes his audience on an engaging journey, channeling the inner voice of a truck-stop waitress, a mountain boy seeking spirituality or a socially and environmentally-charged activist.
Mitch’s rendition of Shady Grove was featured on the CD "APPALACHIA: A HISTORY OF MOUNTAINS AND PEOPLE". Academy Award winning actress Sissy Spacek narrates the four-part PBS series.
Mitch has won many of the country's most prestigious songwriting competitions. The Folk’s Festival Songwriting Competition, The Merlefest “Chris Austin” Songwriting Competition (twice awarded), and The Kerrville “New Folk” Competition and most current the 2009 Telluride Troubadour Competition.
Some of his performances include The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, The Copenhagen Blues Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, Common Ground on the Hill, The Terrapin Hill Harvest Festival, The Evening Muse, The Grey Eagle, Pine Mt. Dulicmer Festival, Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival, Kentucky Music Weekend, Clear Creek Healing Arts & Music Festival, The Dream Acres Festival, Tidewater Friends of Folk Music, The Freight & Salvage, The Folks Festival, The Kerrville Folk Festival, The Music2Life Competition. Floydfest, The Clinch Mt. Festival, The Bele Chere Festival, The Birchmere, The Writer’s Block, The Bean Blossom Festival, Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, The Tidewater Traditional Arts Festival, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kentucky Homefront Theater, The Blue Plate Special, Merlefest, The Little Tennessee River Festival and the Kennedy Center Stage in Washington, D.C.
Mitch has performed with such notables as Arlo Guthrie, Mark Schatz, Si Kahn, Greg Martin, Dirk Powell, Josh Pennington, Less Taylor, Darrell Scott, Richie Havens, Tom Paxton, Dar Williams, Doc Watson, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brian, Steve Forbert and Dave Mallett.
As a veteran storyteller and folk musician Mitch Barrett leads a collaborative storytelling and songwriting workshop, grounded in the premise that everyone’s story is important. Mitch begins by sharing songs written over his 30-year career, and discusses the life events that inspired them. Some are painful, others joyous; but in each he reveals his own vulnerability.
Suggested Formats
Original is the word here. People still have a hard time putting Mitch Barrett into a category. So it's best he just stays in his own category of Appalachianfunkyrastafolksybluesman. He's a contemporary Appalachian singer/songwriter with a touch of Americana thrown in for good measurer.
Mitch is often accompanied on upright bass by Kentucky native and Zoe Speaks band mate Owen Reynolds. Owen has played the upright bass since 1998, playing in a variety of bands ranging from traditional styles to rock and funk to Latin and jazz. Having studied music at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Owen has a strong theoretical grasp, but he is careful not to let his knowledge of theory interfere with the musical communication going on on-stage. Owen has been professionally performing for fifteen years and has been a part of The Kettleheads, The Betweeners, Zoe Speaks and other regional acts.
Instrumentation
Mitch Barrett-vocal, guitar, lap dulcimer,flute
Owen Reynolds- upright bass
Discography
Heart & Soul (Solo Project) 2008
Drop in the Bucket (Zoe Speaks) 2008
I Ain't Lyin' I'm Tellin' You A Story (Solo Project) 2007
Soft Lies (Solo Project) 2003 / Re-Issued 2007
Birds Fly South (Zoe Speaks) 2002
Pearl (Zoe Speaks) 2000
APPALACHIA: A HISTORY OF MOUNTAINS AND PEOPLE - Shady Grove
Heart & Soul captures the emotional range of relationships from the angst of) teenage mothers (Young and Cool), to the sunsetting romance of an aging couple’s dream (Old Lover’s Dance). Not content with writing just ‘another a pretty tune’, Barrett weaves the kind of socio-political commentary into Born to Waste and Gimme, Gimme, Gimme that entices audiences to listen closely and listen to over and over again. Heart & Soul is produced by and includes performances by Dirk Powell, recently recognized for his Songs from the Mountain tour (with Tim O’Brien) and as musical consultant for the Academy Award-winning film, Cold Mountain.
Soft Lies was released in the early 90's, as a snapshot of a time period in his music. It was recorded, mixed, and mastered in one 24-hour stretch, and has a decidedly folk-rock feel.
I Ain't Lyin' I'm Tellin' You A Story is contemporary Appalachian storytelling. These stories are from his past and present. Mitch is a riveting teller, with many years experience working in front of audiences young and old.
The recording Pearl hints at the traditional Appalachian music but covers varied musical territory, with nods to contemporary acoustic, pop, and folk (with Carla Gover).
Birds Fly South produced by Grammy-nominated instrumentalist Bruce Molsky, features the artists (with Carla Gover) themselves on guitar, clawhammer banjo, and lap dulcimer, along with mandolinist Mike Compton (Nashville Bluegrass Band/Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack), guitarist Greg Martin (The Kentucky Headhunters), and others.
On this CD you'll find lively originals about truck-stop waitresses, adoption, and a mountain boy's search for spirituality, a revisiting of the traditional "Shady Grove" from the perspective of a mixed-race couple, introspective and soulful versions of classic traditional ballads, and some mountain-steeped covers of fiddle tunes and gospel songs from the artists' childhood.
The last, Zoe Speaks project "Drop In the Bucket" and his new solo project "Heart & Soul produced by Dirk Powell are available NOW!!
Mitch’s rendition of Shady Grove was featured in APPALACHIA: A HISTORY OF MOUNTAINS AND PEOPLE CD. Academy Award winning actress Sissy Spacek narrates the four-part PBS series weaves breathtaking scenes of the natural world together with compelling stories of human drama to create a deep and unprecedented look at America's mountain home. The first environmental history of any region, APPALACHIA features interviews with Barbara Kingsolver, E.O. Wilson and many others including native Cherokees.
Contact Mitch by emailing him at mitchbarrettmusic@hotmail.com
or bmbartistmgt@gmail.com
Links
http://www.mitchbarrettmusic.com
MySpace
Facebook
Mitch Barrett - Telluride Troubadour Winner
Appalachia a History of Mountains and People
