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Jonathan Byrd (musician)

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Jonathan Byrd
Background information
Birth nameJonathan Byrd
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
OriginCarrboro, North Carolina
Genrescountry, folk
singer-songwriter
world, folk-rock
Instrument(s)vocals, guitar
Years active2000–present
LabelsWaterbug Records
Websitewww.jonathanbyrd.com

Jonathan Byrd (born 1970 in Fayetteville, North Carolina) is an American singer-songwriter based in Carrboro, North Carolina. He is best known for his narrative tales of love, life, and death in America. In 2003, he was among the winners of the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival. He set a record for CD sales at the festival that year, making more sales than the main stage acts. His song, "The Ballad of Larry" has been listed a "Top Rated Song" by Americana-UK. He primarily performs solo and accompanies himself in a variety of traditional acoustic guitar styles. His recordings have featured a variety of instrumental ensembles and typically include one or more instrumental tracks that feature Byrd's skillful flatpicking technique. Occasionally he also appears with the Athens, Georgia based world music duo, Dromedary.

Jonathan Byrd teamed up with Chris Kokesh after meeting her at the Americana Song Academy and the duo released a self-titled album under the name The Barn Birds in 2013.[1]

In 2014, Byrd released You Can't Outrun The Radio, a collection of songs inspired by an impromptu song circle in 2009 at the Green Room in Montreal.[2]

Discography

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Albums

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Other recordings

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  • "You Better Keep An Eye On Him", with Dromedary on Vote in November: Election 2004 Anti-Theft Device (Waterbug compilation, 2004)
  • "Breathless" on Waterbug Anthology 8: Born into the Whisper (Waterbug compilation, 2006)
  • Live at the Saxon Pub, with Greg Klyma (download of live show, 2006)
  • "Cut 'em Down", a song by Byrd, recorded by Mission Street Project for Liberty Tree: Songs from the American Kitchen, Vol. 1 (2006, Hudson Harding)
  • "White Cloud", a song by Byrd recorded by Karen Mal for The Space Between (2007, Waterbug); Mal and Byrd also co-wrote the album's title track.

Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ from an interview on episode 164 of the Americana Music Show, released November 4, 2013
  2. ^ from an interview published on episode 223 of the Americana Music Show, released December 8, 2014
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