Barclay Leads the Band

Local singer-songwriter Barclay Martin is best known around town as the dude who sounds like James Taylor and looks like Orlando Bloom with a tan. He’s played places like PotPie and Bar Natasha, and last night I caught him at JP Wine Bar and Coffee House. This time with a full band.

Erin McGrane and Barclay Martin shake their respective groove things. Photo: Brian Collins

Over email the past week, he’d implored me to help him recast his image from gentle, bluegrassy fokie to, well, here’s what he said by e-mail:

I started as a solo acoustic act a few years ago, but the project has evolved into something that can barely be described as singer/songwriter folk. I’m playing with insanely good jazz players in a variety of styles, high-energy, all original songs….etc.

The thing is, people still think that when they see my name out, I’m going to just stand there for two hours and play folk songs until they’re catatonic.

Kansas City doesn’t like that kind of thing.

Indeed.