Barry Jean Fontenot is a Louisiana-born, Ozark-raised, Chicago-based Alternative R&B/Americana singer-songwriter whose gritty, soulful voice brings to mind legends like Sam Cooke and Al Green, and whose lyrics and compositions incorporate influences both ancient and eclectic, while ultimately remaining emotionally and lyrically grounded in the emotional realities of the present.
Having initially trained and performed in the classical space, he made his Carnegie Hall Debut at 19 before deciding to write and perform his own brand of Soul Music, drawing on the musical traditions of the Mississippi River Valley and beyond to develop a unique and unmistakable sound, described by critics and observers as “a freaky, radical cross between Otis Redding and David Bowie.” Having cut his teeth in the smoky roadhouses of Northwest Arkansas, Barry moved to Chicago, founded an indie soul project called Barry The Fountains and put out his first record, “The Great Extreme,” with local keyboardist and producer, Amir Khay Nir.
Since 2017, Barry has been a staple of the Chicago Underground, playing hip venues like Reggie’s, Fitzgerald’s, Schuba’s, Subterranean, Martyrs’, The Promontory, Gallery Cabaret, and many more both locally and abroad. Now operating under his own name, Barry’s upcoming projects include a single, “The Flow,” an EP, “Radio Isonomia,” and a Soul Opera based on Sumerian mythology. From the joyful to the haunting, from the Gulf Coast to the Gold Coast, from the Fertile Crescent to the Crescent City, nobody puts it all together quite like Barry.
