BARNS COURTNEY IN ASBURY PARK, NJ
WRITING AND PHOTOS BY AMBER BINTLIFF
Barns Courtney delivered more than just beautifully stripped down versions of his discography as he kicked off the first night of five Unplugged Solo Sessions in Asbury Park, New Jersey on August 7th. The indie/rock England-born artist lit up House of Independents with nothing but his acoustic guitar, soulful vocals and glittering humor for an hour straight on a gorgeous Thursday night down the shore.
The crowd eagerly waited in anticipation from the moment doors opened, chatting with friends and strangers alike sharing their setlist predictions, previous experiences seeing Courtney live, and more. Once the show began with a stunning rendition of “Golden Dandelions,” the crowd’s excitement and pure joy could be felt with every lyric they loudly sang back at the singer.
Each song was prefaced with a relevant story, whether about its writing process or contextual inspiration. Courtney admirably made this show feel more like a friendly gathering rather than a formal concert. He proudly displayed and took home fanart from young fans, had conversations with audience members anytime he heard something shouted at him and did his best to make everyone laugh and feel like they were a part of a community.
There were a few candid moments throughout the night where Courtney worked hard to keep his guitar in tune for each song and asked the crowd to remind him of correct lyrics here and there. He even referenced a YouTube comment where someone called him ‘unprofessional’ for forgetting the words to his own songs, proceeding to joke about how “that guy is gonna be so mad at [him]” everytime he messed up.
Aside from his humorous personality, this show was a beautifully crafted representation of Courtney’s raw talent. It’s a tough task to deliver a killer show with nothing but your voice and an acoustic guitar in hand, but he performed as if it was second nature. Courntey’s grit and passion stood out especially on tracks like “Hellfire” and “Kicks” from his 2017 debut record The Attractions Of Youth. “99” was another highlight of the night as he challenged the crowd to sing every word, even including the twinkly synth bits after the song’s chorus.
Courtney went a little off script halfway through the set and unexpectedly premiered a new unreleased song. As he geared up to perform this new track, he laughed “jokes on you, I didn’t write a new song!” before playing a sneak peak at this currently unnamed future treasure.
As the night began to wind down, Courtney requested to have a photo taken with the crowd to remember the show. He even encouraged the audience to come onstage with him for the picture and to jam out with him (before being told by staff that the stage cannot handle that many people on it at once). This didn’t stop him though as Courtney simply came to the conclusion that he’d hop down into the audience for his final song, “Fire.”
Few artists have (and successfully maintain) the connection that Courtney has with his fanbase. He treated the entire night as if it was an open mic night in a local bar surrounded by close friends and family. Courtney’s Unplugged Solo Sessions created an intimate atmosphere that showcased the singer’s true adoration for what he does and the raw talent he possesses.
