Barry Cloyd is a Midwestern based, touring singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, performing over 200 shows per year, who has spent a lifetime creating a performance style that weaves the genres of Blues, Folk, Celtic, Original 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, requinto and bouzouki. Honored by Chicago’s Millennium Park with inclusion as part of their series, “Great Performers of Illinois”, Barry is also a member of the Illinois Arts Council ArtsTour Roster.
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, “Yuletide Fire”, an acoustic Christmas CD, “The Rainmaker’s Garden”, featuring 12 original songs and the latest all original CD “Spirit Dance”, with 11 of Barry’s newer songs. He tours primarily as a solo artist, but also associates with a fine group of musicians who can accompany him in various formats. Barry fronts a duo called “Clones”, and a band named “Celtricity” which has appeared as a three piece, four piece or five piece group, depending on the requirements of the venue. “Celtricity” is jam band/fusion group that weaves together the genres of Folk, Celtic, Blues, Roots, World and Barry’s original music.
Barry has co-written, produced and toured more than 20 original folk musicals, written more than 350 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 performed/toured in Ireland, England, Wales, Mexico, the Caribbean and much of the U.S. and is a co-founder, with Brian “Fox” Ellis, 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 four of its original shows, “Prairie Fire”, “A Prairie Christmas”, “River Ghosts” and “Civil War Ghosts and Legends”. Additional upcoming projects include Barry’s sixth solo CD, to be recorded partially at Tim Carter’s Nashville studio and another PFT CD release. Also Barry is featured in a Prairie Folklore Theatre documentary film project entitled “Voices for the River” (funded by the Illinois EPA).