Acoustic folk punk singer-songwriter with attitude. Award-winning songs to make you laugh, cry and rage.
Original, unusual, controversial, political, heart-felt, tear-jerking, angry, inspired, humorous, iconoclastic, sentimental, anti-fascist, engaging, intelligent.
I am a political singer-songwriter playing original folk-punk tunes on my acoustic guitar.
I have toured all over UK, Europe, NZ and done some gigs in Boston, USA, as well as numerous punkrock and other festivals. My music is in a protest singer-songwriter style, with influences from folk, punk, ska, pop and bluegrass, but I like to think that my voice and guitar style are individual, unusual and original.
My influences range from Billy Bragg, Stiff Little Fingers and Buddy Holly to the greats of political folk (Dick Gaughan, Christy Moore, Robb Johnson) and I strongly believe in performing both as an entertainer and story-teller as well as singing my songs.
I won the Raise Your Banners Festival of Political Song songwriting competition in 2009 (with Never Never Land), and continue to write from a variety of perspectives, some narrative, some lyrical, some deadly serious and political and some light-hearted. I love playing gigs, whether small and intimate cafes, bars and house concerts or big venues and festival stages.
I have gigged with such luminaries as Attila the Stockbroker, Robb Johnson, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Oi! Polloi and Miss Quincy, and am always on the look out for gigs in interesting venues with interesting crowds.
Come and listen to my tunes at
www.myspace.com/jamesbarbowen
Please have a look at my facebook musician page, with videos and info about gigs too
