As luck would have it, Barry Bays has performed and recorded with some of the top musicians in the world. Here are a few, in no particular order: Shawn Lane, Sean Rickman, John Mohead, Kenny Brown, Kyle Cook, Greg Crowe, The Beat Daddys, Grammy Nominee Hubert Sumlin, Bobby Rush, Colin Linden, Grammy Winner Jimbo Mathus, Kristian Dambrino (Miss Mississippi 2005), Jim Dickinson, Johnny Holiday, Stan Lassiter, Jeff Sipe, Andy Timmons, Craig Erickson, Chris Nix, Billy Branch, Sam Carr, Eugene Gales, Jeff Healey, James "T. Model" Ford, Johnny Neel, Willie Foster, multi-Grammy nominee Dorothy Moore (Misty Blue), Handy Award nominee Willie King, Handy Award winner Little Dave Thompson, St. Louis Blues artist Big George Brock, Rolling Stones/John Lennon/George Harrison/Sheryl Crow saxophonist Bobby Keys, Eric Clapton/J.J. Cale/Joe Cocker drummer Jimmy Karstein, Billy Gibson, Terry "Big T." Williams, Diunna Greenleaf, Blind Mississippi Morris, Albert King Award winner Daniel "Rev. Slick" Ballinger, Chicago Blues Diva Nora Jean Bruso, Sid Herring (The Gants), Greg Ruggiero, Cary Hudson, Bostons Blues Poet/saxophonist Dick Lourie, John Horton & Mississippi Slim, Terry Harmonica Bean, and the Bluff City Backsliders.
Guitar Player Magazine (January 2004) featured a lengthy interview with Barry and Swede bassist Jonas Hellborg detailing their personal and musical relationships with the late keyboard/guitar virtuoso Shawn Lane. Barry also appeared in the July/August 2007 issue of Delta Magazine and the March/June 2004 special double issue of Living Blues Magazine entitled Mississippi Blues Today!
Barry, along with P. Renee Foster, contributed to Dr. Stephen A. Kings book Reggae, Rastafari, and the Rhetoric of Social Control. Since its publication, professors at recognized Research I institutions, including the University of North Carolina and Yale University, have used the book in their undergraduate and graduate courses. In addition, a number of University libraries across the country have added the book to their respective collections. The book has received highly favorable reviews from noted ethnomusicologist Rob Bowman and the 2003 Reggae Festival Guide.
Barry is the Director of Bands at Delta State University's Delta Music Institute in Cleveland, Mississippi, and has been the guitar & bass instructor in DSU's Music Department since 1988.
For more information please visit http://www.barrybays.com
