Evan Barber Live Music at Haughty Heron

Evan Barber is a local fixture on the music scene and no stranger to the Americana/roots music scene in the south. The Albany, Georgia native has been writing, recording, and touring across his native territory for the better part of the past decade. He’s cut his teeth sharing the stage with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Blackberry Smoke, Jason Isbell, and the Drive-by Truckers — just to name a few. His songs are sketches of the American South; honest-to-goodness stories lifted from the prairies situated below the heart of Appalachia.

Barber’s latest offering Until The Thunder plays out like a daydream on the front porch swing after an evening spent under the stars, reminiscing about what has passed and pondering what is yet to come. Guitars awash in reverb blend with Barber’s warm, crooning vocals to offer a unique listening experience, something that wouldn’t be unfairly labeled as country/folk-tinged Explosions in the Sky at times. It’s southern comfort amidst southern struggle; finding a warmth in the cold.

Speaking of southern, Barber points to the “duality of the Southern Thing” — Patterson Hood’s apt moniker for reckoning with the region’s dark past while simultaneously celebrating the area’s progress and inherent pride — as an inspiration for his writing.

He comes by it honestly; as a lifelong Georgia resident, he’s seen and fully lived both the beauty and the shame associated with the Southern Thing. Until The Thunder draws heavily from his upbringing as well as road-worn experiences from time spent touring with his band, the Dead Gamblers. These songs are truly from the heart; his heart being that of a lifelong Southerner.