Daily Inspiration: Meet Becky Bliss

Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Bliss

Hi Becky, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Nathan and I met through a booking agent in Kansas City way back in 2005. I was in college studying music and was looking for a guitarist to play shows with. Nathan had moved back to KC after 10 years on the East Coast and 2 years in LA, and he was looking for a singer.
We started playing all over Kansas City, sometimes up to 3 or 4 nights a week- bars, restaurants, weddings and house concerts. We became great friends and fell in love. That whole first year of playing music together though, we never told each other how we felt. After I graduated college, I moved to NYC a year to the day after we met. He came out to see me the next year and play some shows, and we finally couldn’t deny how we felt anymore. He moved to NYC a few months later, we got married later that year, and we started our band, Barnaby Bright.
For the next 6 years we toured the world, made two records, won a couple contests and received various songwriting awards. It was an amazing and exciting life, but we were ready for a change of scenery. We moved to Nashville and spent almost two years there alongside so many amazing friends and peers who had recently relocated to the music hub. We made another record there and then moved back to Kansas City to be close to family.
We made a Christmas record in our home studio during the pandemic which was hailed by the NY Times as one of the top holiday albums of 2020. Eventually fate led us to Carmen Dieker (Aguilar now that she’s married) and we knew that her amazing violin/fiddle skills and and beautiful three part harmonies were the perfect addition to our music. We’ve been a trio now for a little over two years, still touring the country and looking forward to releasing a new record later this year! Our first single from the new album drops this spring.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
So many struggles! And so much beauty. The trick is to try and stay stead through it all. We’ve not mastered that, but it’s something we strive for every day.
Part of being an artist is just accepting rejection. Someone will else will always be more talented, more connected, more beautiful, more lucky- you name it. Showing up every day and doing the work and believing that you have a voice that the world needs to hear is what it’s all about.
We’ve had car trouble, bad gigs, failed studio days, canceled shows due to sickness, clubs that never email us back…one of our most salient struggles was in NYC right after a huge ice storm. As Nathan walked into the venue with two guitars about to start soundcheck, a giant slab of ice fell from the 3rd story of the venue and landed directly on his head. He was dazed, he was bleeding…there was no doubt he needed medical attention. We raced to a nearby hospital where he was drugged and given 12 staples to the top of his head. Miraculously, we got back to the venue in time to actually play the show- although Nathan performed with a giant white bandage wrapped around his head and says to this day that he doesn’t actually remember the show at all!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I think people know our music for it’s spooky, spiritual undertones and the connective lyrics. The best (and most frequent) compliment we get after shows is when someone mentions a specific song with tears in their eyes and says that it hit them in their heart because they related with it so much.
As a band, we don’t shy away from any subjects- one of our sets could make you laugh, cry, think, get goosebumps…you’ll hear love songs, murder ballads, silly lyrics and themes of loss and resilience.
People are also always awed by Nathan’s virtuosic guitar skills….he plays the guitar as if it’s another appendage on his body. He uses it in ways people have never seen, and the way it compliments my voice, our three part harmonies and the lyrics of the songs is something we’re very proud of.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Without naming specific names, we have a truly amazing circle of “Patrons of the Arts” who have supported not only us, but many other musician friends. We also have an incredible community of supporters on Patreon. That is a place where we can share our most personal stories and updates as a band. We give our patrons early access to new music and photos, early demos of songs, voice memos with life updates, special cover songs…we sort of do it all! It’s a very special community and we’re so grateful for their support over the years.
And of course, a huge shoutout to every fan who has every hosted a house concert…that has to be upwards of 200 at this point! House concert hosts are truly patrons of the arts, supporting touring musicians and opening their home to other music lovers, creating a truly beautiful and intimate environment for the artist and the listener.

Pricing:

• You can join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month and get access to years of special content. www.patreon.com/barnabybright
• Our website has records, CDs, tshirts, greeting cards, USB drives filled with music and so much more! www.barnabybright.com
• We mostly play clubs and concert halls, but we also love doing intimate house concerts. Sometimes people hire us to play at their wedding ceremonies!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.barnabybright.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/barnabybright
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/barnabybright
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/barnabybrightmusic
• Other: https://www.bandsintown.com/e/1033203696-barnaby-bright-at-green-guitar-folk-house