Willie Barry: News

I released my own CD in 2010 with 9 songs I wrote. It would be nice to have your support! If you can offer a donation for the CD, please mail your check of 12 dollars to Willie Barry PO BOX 290 Jefferson, MD 21755. 

Please visit our "Calendar" section here on the website to see the details of the Rockville show this Summer and others. Willie has about 30 shows booked so far in 2011 and is waiting on several more exciting opportunities to play both solo and with band members. If you are interested in a list of songs he has please email us. he has a few new originals and many new covers and is getting rave reviews from recent shows (see our guestbook section). All this while being 16 years old, a Junior at Brunswick High School and maintaing a 4.0 average. Busy Busy- see you at a show !  

Willie Barry Frederick IDOL Finalist -

http://www.gazette.net/stories/10072010/entefre161516_32539.php

Hello to you, Mr. Mark!
     First and foremost thank you for responding to my email!  Yes, Eileen and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Willie perform Friday night! To answer your question of how we got your email--yes, we got it from the website.  How it started was--that morning, Eileen and I went out for breakfast.  We bought the Frederick News Post and we were reading through the paper after breakfast.  Eileen came across the Calendar of Events section and saw a description of the In the Street festival in Frederick.  The article mentioning Willie grabbed my attention. When I read he was playing in Middletown, I asked Eileen if she knew the area.  She said she did.  So we Googled his name to see if he had his own website and low and behold he did!  
      
    Consider Eileen and I there at the Beans in the Belfry on Friday night August 13th 7:00-9:30.  (That's how it's listed on your website calendar.  Is the time and date correct?  We look forward to meeting you and seeing Willie perform again.  The coffeehouse setting will be nice!  We've never been to Beans in the Belfry coffeehouse.  See you next Friday night!

William and Eileen

NEWS BULLETIN (6/22/10): 

Wille Barry recieved word yesterday that he has been invited by the City of Frederick to appear at the City's "In the Street" Festival on Saturday September 11th 2010!! Please see the link below for details. 

http://www.celebratefrederick.com/Events/Index.aspx?page=99

On Monday 6/21/10, Willie Barry advanced to the semi final round of the Brewers Alley "Frederick Idol" original singer/songwriter competition. Three artists competed (much to the delight of the crowd) and the final vote was very close.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_ent.htm?StoryID=105736

15-year-old singer-songwriter Willie Barry
Originally published June 04, 2010


By Lauren LaRocca
News-Post Staff


Photo by Bill Green



Fifteen-year-old Willie Barry performs some of his own music as well as a wide variety of Bob Dylan's work at a recent New Market festival.






What: Willie Barry with Melody Page

When: 7 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 5


Where: Beans in the Belfry, Meeting Place & Cafe, 122 W. Potomac St., Brunswick


Tickets: Free


Information: 301-834-7178, www.BeansintheBelfry.com


Willie Barry hid behind long, dark hair as he sang, strummed his guitar and piped on his harmonica at an open mic at Frederick Cellars a few months ago. Fifteen years old and a 10th grader at Brunswick High School, he also frequents the Frederick Coffee Company, Brewer's Alley and Beans in the Belfry.
Willie, living in Jefferson , picked up the guitar about two years ago and adopted the persona of Bob Dylan, his idol. He has some 25 CDs by Dylan, is currently reading "Chronicles," and has watched every documentary he can get his hands on, as well as the feature film "I'm Not There." He learned harmonica, too, and wears the dark shades Dylan was known for in the '60s.

He was struck by how Dylan "was just an acoustic guitar player making it on his own," he said. "His goal wasn't to make people happy. It was to make him happy."

Willie began playing in public in the summer of 2009 at the Coffee House at Eppingshire, in Annapolis.

His sets usually consist of various Dylan songs (he's learned about 100, he said, from the Internet), sung in Dylan's signature nasal style. But he doesn't necessarily want to be known as an impersonator or tribute act.

"He's got this great capacity for memorizing stuff," said local singer-songwriter Tomy Wright.

Wright and other musicians in the Frederick open mic community encouraged Willie to write his own material.

Willie said he's written a handful of original songs and has recorded an album, titled "Yes We Can," though it's not mastered yet.

"I'm not up to date on politics, but if I could have voted for him (Obama), I would have," Willie said.

He said he writes about civil rights and anti-war songs. Even in his own voice, a touch of his inspiration.

PRESS RELEASE

WILLIE BARRY to appear at Hollow Creek Golf Club Friday May 17th 8pm




Willie Barry is a local musician from Jefferson Maryland. He is a new song writer who has quickly become known for his outstanding performances focusing on the legendary musical poetry and lyrics of Bob Dylan. He is a popular act with many local venues and fans, and has been voted "best Bob Dylan singer" by his fellow musicians.

He will be appearing at the Hollow Creek Golf Club in Middletown on Friday night (hollowcreekgolfclub.com) May 21st. Directions can be obtained by visiting the club’s website or calling their recently renovated Valley Grill sports bar and restaurant. Both the restaurant and patio area that overlook the 18th green and the course waterfall, have undergone a total renovation and provide a great setting for a nice evening of music and relaxation. .

So far this Spring, Willie Barry has accepted requests from fellow Musicians and Venue owners to sing at events like the 2010 panhandle Earth Day festival, The Artists market on Market St in Frederick, Brewers Alley, Frederick's 1st Saturday, The Frederick Coffee Company, the 2010 New Market festival, the Beans in the Belfry, a benefit for Haiti, and several other events.


At the age of 13, Willie Barry starting taking weekly guitar lessons. He soon took to the acoustic guitar like a duck to water. A year later he picked up a harmonica and started to play it. He now owns several, including his favorite “signature series” harmonica that is signed by Bob Dylan. Willie’s foundation is in Classic Folk music.

In the spring of 2008, after playing primarily in front of family, he traveled to Annapolis, Maryland to attend his first “open microphone night” at the suggestion of a family friend Michael Egan. After he was finished playing in front of the microphone and bright lights, his only comment was “Did you see my legs shaking?” We (his parents Mark and Karen Barry) only laughed and said “of course not!” Willie has been addicted to signing in front of crowds ever since then.

In the summer of 2009, his musical birthplace (the Epping Shire Coffee House in Annapolis, Maryland) was also instrumental in moving Willie to yet another level. They sponsored the “Rock the Dock” summer series at the Annapolis City Dock where Willie had the opportunity to lead off the event in front of hundreds of people.

Some interesting facts about this young artist include the following:

Bill Walters, Willie’s late grandfather, once lived with a former boyfriend of Ms. Patsy Cline in Winchester, Virginia. Willie has about 25 CD’s of Bob Dylan and can remember lyrics over 15 minutes long. He has seen Bob in concert in person and on DVD when he played at the Newport Jazz Festival and other venues. He enjoys watching the old black and white Press interviews with Dylan and how they were always asking him “what he mean’t by that” etc. He collects sun glasses like Dylan wore and he has a harmonica holder like Dylan uses. Willie has joined quite a network of Dylan fans that believe Dylan was quite the poetic genius.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/05202010/entefre160232_32548.php
Sunglasses and song
Brunswick teen takes Bob Dylan vibe to Hollow Creek
by Nicole Belanger |







mark barry
Fifteen-year-old singer/songwriter Willie Barry will headline Middletown's Hollow Creek Golf Club on Friday.
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Audiences may find it hard to believe that just two short years have passed since 15-year-old Willie Barry first picked up a guitar and started strumming along to his favorite CDs.

During that time, the musician and music lover has progressed from lessons to staging concerts for family and friends to booking regional gigs and garnering attention from fellow rockers who often tell him he sounds just like the infamous Bob Dylan.

"Bob Dylan is a genius," said Barry, who first fell in love with the iconic singer/songwriter after borrowing some of his dad's albums. In fact, he loved the singer so much that he taught himself to play the harmonica while strumming his guitar - like Dylan himself.

On Friday, Barry will take his show to the picturesque veranda at Middletown's Hollow Creek Golf Course.

"It's such a beautiful setting there by the waterfall on the veranda with the lake in the background," said Barry's dad, Mark. There, Barry will play many of Dylan's most famous songs, as well as a few others - using his trademark raspy voice and donning sunglasses that look just like Dylan's, circa 1960-70.

Having performed at Annapolis' Rock the Dock event, assorted wineries and countless coffeehouses, Barry is often joined onstage by other musicians who have taken the teen under their wing; A fact both Barry and his father credit with the young musician's success thus far.

Barry's musical journey began at the age of 13.

"I started taking lessons and liked it and then started playing the harmonica," said the modest teen.

Playing the harmonica while simultaneously strumming a guitar is not an easy feat, his father pointed out.

"We're really proud of him. He's unassuming, much like Dylan himself," he said.

Last year, Barry's parents surprised him by taking him to see Bob Dylan in concert.

"Willie still has the ticket stub hanging in his room," said Mark Barry.

The event was made even more meaningful since the young singer had spent time studying Dylan's concerts on DVDs purchased over the years.

The teen also owns seven harmonicas now, including one electronically signed by the folk hero.

Although he loves playing Dylan's music, Barry is also trying his hand at writing his own. So far, the Brunswick High School sophomore has penned a couple of original tunes and plans to continue - hopefully debuting them for audiences in the near future.

"It's not too easy," he said. "My favorite type of music is acoustic."

Barry has also considered pursuing music in college.

His parents have been his biggest supporters, introducing him to Frederick County's music scene and encouraging his passion.

"We could tell he had raw talent and was picking up intricate chords right away," said Mark Barry. "We saw how much he progressed over the past two years."

For now, the 15-year-old plans to spend the summer playing local venues, including Brunswick's Beans in the Belfry and throughout Frederick, hoping to hit the festival scene. Luckily, the youth is comfortable on stage, said his father.

On Friday, though, comes another first.

"I'm looking forward to playing at Hollow Creek," Barry said.

Willie Barry

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Hollow Creek Golf Club, 201 Glenbook Drive, Middletown

For information: 301-371-0400 www.hollowcreekgolfclub.com