Canadiana / Americana best describes the music of Canadian singer-songwriter, Barry James Payne.From the heart of Canada’s Southwestern Ontario, music springs eternal. For the past 20 years, ‘String Bone’ brainchild, Barry James Payne has been living in and drinking the water here that legends before him drank. Discover ‘Wow! Oh Yeah!’ the December 28th
Canadiana / Americana best describes the music of Canadian singer-songwriter, Barry James Payne.From the heart of Canada’s Southwestern Ontario, music springs eternal. For the past 20 years, ‘String Bone’ brainchild, Barry James Payne has been living in and drinking the water here that legends before him drank. Discover ‘Wow! Oh Yeah!’ the December 28th
Payne’s home of Stratford, Ontario, is home of The Band’s Richard Manuel, guitarist John Till (Janis
Joplin), Celtic Queen Loreena McKennitt, Ron Sexsmith and teen pop idol Justin Beiber to name a few of
the more globally known. For a town of just 30,000, it is bursting at the seams with art of all kinds.
Roots music, country, folk and rock & roll has been the life force of the community’s working class, the
farming community and the musicians who work within. On another level there’s the extended artistic
community, which runs deep from theatre and television actors to potters, from directors to movie
producers, from fine artists to artisans of all kinds.
Payne has soaked up the vibe, the community, drank the water, frequented the local bars that echoes the
ghosts of musical past and he has come out with his best songs inspired by the neighbourhood.
Well worn by the rumble of the road, Payne and his “North” Americana band, String Bone, bring his true
life narratives close to the ear with tender arrangements and gruff sincerity. With a mix of folk, blues,
country, rock and pop elements his sound is both fluid and solid, thus true to its name.
His music drives through darkness, betrayal and remorse towards love, light, escape, and freedom on the
road ahead, with Payne at the wheel. Born in London, Ontario, Payne had to get out of Dodge at an early
age. He hitchhiked and travelled West across Canada from his hometown a half dozen times to Canada’s
West Coast. Once settled there, he travelled down the West Coast of the US and to 15 other states, then
England, France, Spain, Greece, Toronto, Montreal, Holland & Germany, settling in Stratford in 1999.
Payne also performs and records with other musical projects including Celtic powerhouse ‘Rant Maggie
Rant’ and with roots duo ‘Payne & Taylor,’ alongside highly respected bluesman Rick Taylor (Willie P.
Bennett, Stan Rogers, Colleen Peterson).
