Rising Stars: Meet Reed Barton

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Reed Barton.

Hi Reed, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I am a Singer/Songwriter from Fort Worth, Texas, now based in Nashville, Tennessee. My love for music began with singing old piano gospel hymns with my grandparents in a tiny church, then listening to artists like Willie Nelson and Ray Charles on the way home. My parents listened to almost everything from classic country to classic rock, jazz to blues, bluegrass to Cajun, and everything in between. My brothers brought the contemporary influence, showing me modern rock and hip-hop.

There was always something good playing in the car.

I began writing songs at an early age, making little ditties on a very out-of-tune piano on the keys that weren’t broken. I believe I picked up the guitar at around age nine and never looked back. While still in high school, I began performing at open mics around Fort Worth and Dallas. My music career was forged in the fires of the Texas bar & honky tonk scene, taking me all around the state playing in just about any town with a stage. I continued to write songs, eventually forming a country band, disbanding, and then joining a rock group as a guitar player & songwriter. I am so grateful for the time spent in the latter while sharpening my writing skills and learning how to properly run a band, but I realized that I needed to follow my feet. This led me to the songwriting Mecca of the world, Nashville.

Currently, I still enjoy performing, but I am focused on the root of it all: creating good songs. I revel in co-writing and collaborating with other writers and am always seeking opportunities. My biggest goals are to carve my name out in the long-lasting legacy of songwriters who we all know and love and maybe, if I’m lucky, sign Willie Nelson’s guitar.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Much like the roads in Nashville, there have been many pot-holes along the way.

Songwriting is not an easy career in any sense. To me, it is about connecting with people’s feelings and emotions. You have to be able to say what people are already thinking without saying it directly. It can be a challenge to say things that have already been said in a unique way, so one of the struggles is finding out how to do this.

The other side to that is that rather than solely worrying about the quality of the songs, creating and finishing songs is just as, if not more important. One of the best pieces of advice I believe that I have received is, “You are gonna write a lot of bad songs before you get many good ones,” and I believe this is true.

You have to push through the roadblocks in your head, that you aren’t good enough, you don’t know enough, you aren’t cool enough, and just do what you are meant to do- WRITE. You must also try to grow, but that happens through the experience of creating. Try to write something every day if you can.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
I am primarily a songwriter, but I also am a performer and artist. I have released music under my own name, as well as written songs for the Austin Upchurch band. As a solo artist, I have opened shows for artists such as Koe Wetzel, Parker McCollum, Stoney Larue, Kevin Fowler, and Curtis Grimes.

I am proud of everything I have done, particularly the catalog of songs that I have written.

The things that set me apart from others are my deep, undying love for the music itself and my work ethic. I am always looking for opportunities to work and collaborate with others and I would love to run my own recording studio one day as a producer, writing songs with the artists that I produce.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
First of all, be nice. No one wants to work with a jerk.

Secondly, be grateful. If someone does something nice for you, show appreciation for it. I believe this is how you can eventually find folks to mentor you by showing that you will reciprocate good energy to those who will help you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @reedbartonmusic
• Facebook: Reed Barton Music
• Twitter: @reedbartonmusic

Image Credits
Garret Uhl, Blake Washington, Austin Upchurch, and Clay Massey