Header image  
 

Reviews

  • From the "20 Questions" segment of Richmond.com online newspaper: question was "Who is your all-time favorite musician?" Answer: "Nina Simone and Roddy Barnes, who is a local [Richmond] musician. He is amazing." Shanea Taylor, Film Director and Actress
  • “…thoroughly evocative but economical touch.” Mike Joyce, The Washington Post
  • “Barnes’ excellent touch on the keys drives the tunes with undeniable authenticity.” Ames Arnold, Style Magazine Richmond, Virginia
  • ‘’(Barnes) is the ultimate barrelhouse sideman for Gaye, with whom he presently tours.’’ George P. Seedorff , Big City Rhythm and Blues, Detroit Michigan
  • “…a pianist packed with talent…from one selection to the next, Gaye Adegbalola and Roddy Barnes effortlessly offer spontaneous emotion, with much tact and class.” Fred Delforge, Blues Sur Seine France
  • (Gaye Adegabalola with Roddy Barnes on Neo Classic Blues)
    “…add in the resignation and poignancy, laced with defiance, …and a thundering boogie piano and strident vocals,…and you have a set that belongs in every serious blues collector’s collection.” Mick Rainsford, Blues in Britain Magazine England
  • (More about Neo Classic Blues)
    "On this outing Roddy Barnes provides prodigious piano counterpoint to Ms. Adegbalola's powerful vocal stylings. If you are a fan of Saffire and fantastic acoustic piano work, this CD is a must purchase." Beardo, Blues Wax
  • "Roddy Barnes is an excellent songwriter and singer but his piano playing truly stands out. He plays with an exquisite combination of wit and passion which really brings life to his music." - Ann Rabson, Songwriter/Recording Artist, Alligator Records
  • “Roddy performs every song as though it is his very last performance. He lays his soul bare…with his writing, his playing, his singing. Such honesty is rare—in music and in life.” Gaye Adegbalola, Alligator Records
  • “With his powerful piano style, and his world-weary, yet playful, vocals, I feel as if I’m time-traveling back to a juke joint in the 20’s on the old-timey feel of his music… He’s truly a blue-plate special in the world’s musical diner…eat him up!” Andra Faye, Alligator Records
  • “These ten fingers are packed with power and finesse which complement his vocals and strong songwriting talent. Roddy takes the listener everywhere.” Annieville Blues CAW Records, Seattle WA
  • "Roddy Barnes hits the wood floor with his big foot to enforce the one beat in a measure of music that I haven't heard a white man play - ever." - Billy Belzer, Sneer Magazine
  • “He’s great…innovative…one of the best additions to the Austin music scene. Roddy Barnes is guaranteed entertainment.” John Aielli, KUT Radio Austin, TX
  • "There's no telling where soul is going to turn up. It knows no race or gender and follows no regional lines. Anybody can have it - though not many do. Roddy Barnes is one young, small-town, white boy who has it and has it bad. And that's a very good thing." - T. Foltz, St. Joseph News-Press
  • "His voice . . . smooth, but with a rough edge that resonates with experience . . . touching lyrics . . . quite funny at times, and at others, achingly sad." - R. McCully, New Orleans' Impact Magazine
  • "He's like the Bruce Springsteen of boogie woogie . . . He's a man in the grips of a sensual hankering that hardly allows him a breath between the long, languid lines of his blues . . . He keeps stirring up desire until it builds to the emergency condition of "Call 911," as deadly humorous a boogie as any Long-Tall You-Know-Who ever put down." - J.D. Buhl, "Holy Soul Piano Roll," Kansas City's The New Times
  • "[Roddy] has conquered, by his talent, all the music lovers of the city of Ducs." - Le Dauphine, Chambery, France

 

Album Releases

Contact Roddy to purchase any of these CDs.

  • "Roll with the Punches" [Monkfish, 1993]
  • "Unseen" [Monkfish, 1994]
  • "Betrayed" [CandyJack Records & Hey Boo, BMI, 1995]
  • "Blues, Boogie, and Soul" [CandyJack Records & Hey Boo, BMI, 1997]
  • "Broken Wing" [Hey Boo, BMI, 2001]
  • "Ballads and Barrooms" [Hey Boo, BMI, 2003]
  • "Neo-Classic Blues," Gaye Adegbalola with Roddy Barnes [Hot Toddy Music, 2004]


Songs also recorded by Saffire, on "Cleaning House" and "Ain't Gonna Hush" releases through Alligator Records.


Radio features include "Ecclecticos" by John Aeilli in Austin, TX; "Friday Night Fish Fry" by Chuck Haddock in Kansas City, MO; and "Free Radio Austin" by Marc Gross in Austin, TX.


Club performances include:

  • 1988 - 1989, France: Le Coton Club, Chambery; Le Crocodile, Grenoble; Pub Satori, Tignes; Pub 2000, Val Claret.
  • 1989 - 1990, Kansas City MO: B.B.'s Lawnside B.B.Q., The Phoenix, Embassy Suites, Jardins, Blaneys, & Bourbon Street Pub.
  • 1991 - 1992, Boston, MA: Newton Country Club, Fanniel Hall, Reflections.
  • 1993 - 1997, New Orleans LA: Tipitina's, Maxwell's Toulouse Cabaret, The Royal Cafe, The Mint, Snug Harbor, and Neutral Ground Coffee House.
  • 1997 - 2002, Austin, TX: The Elephant Room, Top of the Mark, The Headliner's Club, Esther's Follies, & The Parlor.