by Charlie Barnett | Oct 14, 2025 | Charlie's Blog, Home Page, News
I used to be a musician who played out a lot, but for the past five years, I’ve been concentrating on writing plays and musicals. Lately, though, I have felt an itch to perform again. But in what way? Most people who have followed my performing career would think of me as a jazz pianist, but my artistic roots are actually in Appalachian folk music, and that’s what my mind kept coming back to. The five-string banjo was the first instrument I played for audiences.
I finally got up the nerve to invite a few very good musicians to get together and play some folk songs — pieces that are structurally simple, but emotionally complex. I’m flattered that guys as talented as bassist Greg Watkins, percussionist Mark Carson, and fiddler Michael Robert Taylor have agreed to form a band with me and join me on this sentimental journey. We’re called Barnstorm, and our first gig is Monday, November 3rd at 7 pm at The Alley at Bethesda Boards, a new bring-your-own-food-and-drink venue located inside a skateboard shop at 7900 Woodmont Ave. in Bethesda.
Our good friend Dave Ries will be opening the show. Admission is $20 for those whose incomes have not been affected by the recent federal craziness and $0 for those whose incomes have been affected. (No proof of income is required, just let us know at the door.)
by Charlie Barnett | Oct 1, 2025 | Charlie's Blog, Home Page, News
I’m pleased to let you know that the National String Symphonia, helmed by music director David Fanning, will be performing my piece The Fireman’s Carnival next month. This five-movement work for strings and clarinet is based on a treasured childhood memory of mine: the one weekend every summer when the volunteer fire department in my tiny Pennsylvania town would host a traveling carnival as a fundraiser.
The carnival would arrive and get set up in one night. It seemed to appear magically, like a mushroom after rain. The rides were small and probably dangerous. They were run by strange men in greasy clothing whose attention to safety was questionable. The carnival only ran at night. My four sisters and I were able to ride our bicycles to it. And riding home at the impossibly late hour of 10 pm was something of a dream.
The program will be performed at several Maryland venues, in Wheaton on November 2; in Frederick on November 8; and in Ellicott City on November 9. For more information or for tickets, visit the orchestra’s webpage, nssorchestra.org.
by Charlie Barnett | Jun 14, 2025 | Charlie's Blog, Home Page, News
My good friend Greg Watkins, an extraordinary bassist, recently hosted a virtual children’s concert in my home studio. Greg works as the principal bassist for the American Pops Orchestra, and he also coordinates some of their events. In this case, Greg and the APO had solicited poems from students all over the country and selected some of the best to be read by the gifted singer and actor Alan Naylor, while Greg and I improvised a musical accompaniment on bass and piano. Students and their teachers logged on to stream the performance. It was such a joy to simply “create” on the spot with two such talented artists, and to spotlight the work of the next generation of creators.
by Charlie Barnett | May 14, 2025 | Charlie's Blog, Home Page, News
Last month, I was the bandleader, pianist, and singer in a show in Rochester, New York. It was a birthday concert, and the birthday “boy” was turning 90. The set list consisted of his favorite songs from folk and traditional artists, including Harry Belafonte, Leadbelly, and Odetta. For me, it was a return to my musical roots; I may have spent decades as a jazz performer, but old-time Appalachian music is in my heart, and five-string banjo is the first instrument I could play well. This concert gave me a surprising idea of what my future in performing might hold. As I say to my banjo when I put it back in it back in its case: “Stay tuned.”
