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BiographyWelcome !!! Barry Cloyd is a Midwestern based, touring singer/songwriter/guitarist/educator who has spent a lifetime creating a performance style that weaves the genres of Celtic, Blues, Folk and Roots music into a unique blend all his own. A strong vocalist and multi-instrumentalist as well as a storyteller, theatrical performer and historian, Barry delivers his music on a multitude of guitars (6 & 12 string, Dobro, high-strung, etc.) and other stringed instruments, such as 5-string banjo, mandolin and bouzouki. His stories of travels and history of the songs that he sings provide an added dimension to his performances. Barry is also the founder of the band “Celtricity”, a fusion group that weaves together the genres of Celtic, Blues, World and Original music. Barry provides a wide range of literacy focused, curriculum based classroom/performance programs that bring his music and his study of history together. Programs such as “A Brief History the Blues”, “Carl Sandburg, Poet of the People”, “The American Songbag, Our History through Folk Music” as well as “Connections”, linking Medieval Inventions with our Modern World, “The Celts in Story and Song”, “The French Voyageurs”, “Life On the Prairie”, “Our Rivers in Story and Song” and others link our fascinating history with the importance of oral and written language skills. Barry attended Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois with a double major in Music Education and Vocal Performance. He devotes a great deal of time to independent research in the creation of his performance programs His first CD release "The Wind and the Water" features all original music and some of Nashville's finest session musicians including members of Amy Grant’s, Stephen Stills’ and EmmyLou Harris’ bands. The follow-up CD’s, are “After the Storm”, a Celtic/Americana piece and “Yuletide Fire”, an acoustic Christmas CD. Barry has co-written and produced 18 original musicals, written more than 300 songs, and has appeared in over 300 TV commercials and 70 industrial films, some of which have been shown internationally. He is also a regular guest on radio and television programs wherever he travels. In addition, Barry has toured Ireland, England and Wales and much of the U.S. and is a co-founder of Prairie Folklore Theatre. PFT is a touring theatre company which creates and produces original musical theatre based on the history of the Prairie and Great Lakes States. Prairie Folklore Theatre has also produced CD’s of three of it’s original shows, “Prairie Fire”, “A Prairie Christmas” and “River Ghosts”, with the fourth CD of the show, “Canoe Song” in the works. Upcoming projects include Celtricity’s first CD and Barry’s fourth solo CD, titled, “The Rainmaker’s Garden.” Barry Cloyd is a member of the Illinois Arts Council ArtsTour Roster and a part of the musical selection panel for this juried group of artists. Recently, Barry was honored by being chosen to perform in Chicago’s Downtown Millenium Park as part of the series, “Great Performer of Illinois.” ...And for those who feel that is too formal... here is the real bio!  I am Barry Cloyd and I feel it’s only right (for those of you who don’t know me) to provide a little background information besides just the usual cut and dried “bio”. So, here goes. The performing thing has occupied my life for quite a while now…started when I was just a little guy. Been singing since way before I can remember and began playing guitar at the tender age of 6 years. The first guitar was an electric, a Fender, single pickup “Music Master”…sort of the beginners version of a Fender Strat, but after getting my first acoustic guitar, a Regal of dubious quality and action, I began to realize that the acoustic guitar was much more the instrument for me…and forever on, has been thus. The other instruments,12-string guitar, 5-string Banjo, Mandolin, Bouzouki, high strung guitar and more electric, all came along later...when creative musical boredom began to set in. Anyway, time went on and I kept playing, but by the time I was drafted and served overseas in the US Army, I was married, had a family and my performance career was put on hold for quite awhile. Time has passed, obviously…and the marriage is no more, my daughter Ashley is a grown, successful adult and for the past 7 plus years, I have been making my living doing what I was put here on this tiny globe to do…perform, write, sing and play music. I am a full-time touring singer/songwriter who specializes in not only my own music, but that of many other artists and genres, particularly Celtic, Blues, Folk and World. I am partners with Mr. Brian “Fox” Ellis, a brilliant storyteller and author, in a touring folklore driven theatre company named Prairie Folklore Theatre. PFT writes, tours and performs original folk musical theatre based upon the true history of the Mid-West and Great Lakes Regions of America. We have co-written at least 18 (I lose track) original musical theatre pieces and have toured them around the Mid-West at venues such as Colleges, Universities, Festivals, Civic Celebrations, Native American Pow-Wows, Riverboats Excursions, to name but a few.  I am also the founding member of a band that goes by the name of “Celtricity”, a name that popped into my wandering mind on a late night snowy winter walk in a historic neighborhood (streets lined by the mansions of 19th Century “Whiskey Barons”) of the Central Illinois town where I reside. Short for “Celtic Electricity”. Celtricity is a full out jam band, made up of, besides myself, two very talented gentlemen, Tom “TJ” Jones and Bruce Bergethon. TJ is primarily a percussionist who utilizes many types of World Percussion, djembe, dumbek, bodhran. He also plays great blues harp and an assortment of whistles, pennywhistle, Irish low whistle, stuff like that. Usually he plays about 3 or 4 different instruments at once. And Bruce Bergethon…another monster talent, floats beautiful, gritty street fiddle and killer mandolin, mandola and octave mandolin over the top of my lyrics. Both gents add vocals as well. TJ and I also work as a duo called “Clones”…Cloyd/Jones. But my primary source of income is solo touring musical performances. I have played most every possible venue imaginable, including Festivals, Colleges, Universities, Bars, Clubs, Fairs, Concerts, Riverboats, Nature Centers, Castles and Cathedrals in Ireland, hidden Medieval Gardens in the wilds of national Forests, you get the picture. Also, I have always had an interest in and appreciation for the “other-worldly”, the slightly occult, the stories, songs, myth and legend of those lands that we only read about in books entitled “Mysterious Places” and the like. You’ll find much of that focus sprinkled throughout my life, lyrics, approach and of course, this website. So, with that basic background knowledge in mind, please feel free to wander around my website. I you have any questions or would be interested in a CD or discussing a booking with me, please feel free to place an order, or contact me. Enjoy…and if you are looking for information about me for your upcoming Barry Cloyd performance, feel free to use any promotional piece on this site that works for you. P.S. Check out the growing section on BC’s Graphic Arts as well. I have decided to come out of the “graphic artistic closet”, so to speak, and offer some of my paintings and drawings in print-form. Hope you enjoy. Barry \\\ |
