Jonathan Byrd
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Byrd is an American
singer-songwriter
based in Carrboro, North Carolina
. He is best known for his narrative tales of love, life, and death in America. In 2003, he was among the winners of the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival
. He set a record for CD sales at the festival that year, making more sales than the main stage acts. His song, "The Ballad of Larry" has been listed a "Top Rated Song" by Americana-UK. He primarily performs solo and accompanies himself in a variety of traditional acoustic guitar styles. His recordings have featured a variety of instrumental ensembles and typically include one or more instrumental
tracks that feature Byrd’s skillful flatpicking
technique. Occasionally he also appears with the Athens, Georgia
based world music
duo, Dromedary
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
based in Carrboro, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. He is best known for his narrative tales of love, life, and death in America. In 2003, he was among the winners of the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival
Kerrville Folk Festival
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...
. He set a record for CD sales at the festival that year, making more sales than the main stage acts. His song, "The Ballad of Larry" has been listed a "Top Rated Song" by Americana-UK. He primarily performs solo and accompanies himself in a variety of traditional acoustic guitar styles. His recordings have featured a variety of instrumental ensembles and typically include one or more instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
tracks that feature Byrd’s skillful flatpicking
Flatpicking
Flatpicking is a technique for playing a guitar using a guitar pick held between two or three fingers to strike the strings...
technique. Occasionally he also appears with the Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
based world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
duo, Dromedary
Dromedary (band)
Dromedary, also known as the Dromedary Quartet, is an American world music band originally based out of Athens, Georgia but now with members on both coasts. The group formed as a duo consisting of Andrew Reissiger and Rob McMaken playing a variety of instruments from cultures across the globe...
.
Albums
- WildflowersWildflowers (Jonathan Byrd album)Wildflowers is the 2001 debut album by Jonathan Byrd. The songs are mostly original songs with a few traditional tunes. Here he mixes contemporary singer-songwriter storytelling with Appalachian folk roots. There is even a murder ballad; "Velma" is a song about serial killer Velma Barfield whose...
(2001, Waterbug RecordsWaterbug RecordsWaterbug Records is a small independent record label based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois specializing in singer-songwriters and traditional folk musicians who do original research. The label was founded as an artist cooperative label in 1992 by singer-songwriter Andrew Calhoun. Calhoun described the...
) - The WaitressThe WaitressThe Waitress is the second album by folk singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd. The album was released in 2003, the same year that Byrd won the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival...
(2002, Waterbug Records) - The Sea and The SkyThe Sea and the SkyThe Sea and the Sky is a 2004 collaborative album by North Carolina-based singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd and Georgia-based world music duo, Dromedary .- Track listing :All songs written by Jonathan Byrd...
, with DromedaryDromedary (band)Dromedary, also known as the Dromedary Quartet, is an American world music band originally based out of Athens, Georgia but now with members on both coasts. The group formed as a duo consisting of Andrew Reissiger and Rob McMaken playing a variety of instruments from cultures across the globe...
(2004, Waterbug Records) - This Is The New ThatThis Is the New ThatThis Is the New That is the fourth album by American singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd. It was officially released March 21, 2007, although online availability began in late December 2006. While Byrd's earlier recordings have been in more of a traditional folk vein ranging at times from bluegrass...
(March 2007, Waterbug Records) - Radio SoulRadio SoulRadio Soul is a 2007 album by "Byrdjones", a collaboration by contemporary folk singer-songwriters Jonathan Byrd and Diana Jones. The duo assembled the album in preparation for a series of tours in which they split the bill across parts of Europe and the United states.-Recording:Although the liner...
, with Diana JonesDiana Jones (singer-songwriter)Diana Jones is an American singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. Jones's career gained wider critical acclaim in 2006 with the release of her album, My Remembrance of You. The album made a number of critics end-of-the-year "best of" lists...
(May 2007) - The Law and the Lonesome (May 2008, Waterbug Records)
- CackalackCackalackCackalack is a 2010 studio album by Americana singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd. The title is a variation of the word "Cackalacky", a popular nickname for the Carolinas and the songs all connect to the culture and music of Byrd's home state of North Carolina...
(November 2010, Waterbug Records)
Other recordings
- "You Better Keep An Eye On Him", with Dromedary on Vote in November: Election 2004 Anti-Theft Device (WaterbugWaterbug RecordsWaterbug Records is a small independent record label based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois specializing in singer-songwriters and traditional folk musicians who do original research. The label was founded as an artist cooperative label in 1992 by singer-songwriter Andrew Calhoun. Calhoun described the...
compilation, 2004) - "Breathless" on Waterbug Anthology 8: Born Into the Whisper (Waterbug compilation, 2006)
- Live at the Saxon Pub, with Greg Klyma (download of live show, 2006)
- "Cut 'em Down", a song by Byrd, recorded by Mission Street ProjectErik BalkeyErik Balkey writes custom songs and paints houses and is based in Haddon Heights, NJ. -Discography:* Erik Balkey * Negotiations & Compromise * God's Poet Now * While the Paint Dries...
for Liberty Tree: Songs from the American Kitchen, Vol. 1 (2006, Hudson Harding) - "White Cloud", a song by Byrd recorded by Karen MalKaren MalKaren Mal is an American singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. She is best known for her strikingly open, child-like voice and her poetic and somewhat didactic songwriting. She is also known in the industry as a first-call session singer with a gift for harmony...
for The Space Between (2007, Waterbug); Mal and Byrd also co-wrote the album's title track.
Further reading
- Eshleman, Annette C., "Linen Lites: Jonathan Byrd - Learning the Rules ... and Breaking Them", Dirty Linen, 119, August–September 2005, p. 12-13
- Watroba, Matt, "Jonathan Byrd & Dromedary: forces of nature", Sing Out!Sing Out!Sing Out! is a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that has been published since May 1950.-Background:Sing Out! is the primary publication of the tax exempt, not-for-profit, educational corporation of the same name...
, 48:3, Fall 2004, p. 20-23 (link requires subscription to highbeam.com) - Wood, Arthur, "Born into the Whisper" (Jonathan Byrd bio), FolkWax (link requires free subscription)
- Grant, Rick, "Catchy Songs with True Grit", EU Jacksonville, March 2008
External links
- Jonathan Byrd, official homepage
- Jonathan Byrd at Waterbug RecordsWaterbug RecordsWaterbug Records is a small independent record label based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois specializing in singer-songwriters and traditional folk musicians who do original research. The label was founded as an artist cooperative label in 1992 by singer-songwriter Andrew Calhoun. Calhoun described the...
- Jonathan Byrd at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Jonathan Byrd at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Album review at Fishrecords