Lindsay Barr

Although Lindsay has been playing Peterborough for a number of years, I only finally caught one of her shows just recently. What struck me right away about her was the stage show. Lindsay is the definition of a performer, which will draw in even the most casual fan of the Blues Rock inspired music she performs.

- The Wolf 101.5 webpage

"...the kind of girl who would dance on a rooftop ledge and would always choose dare over truth."

- The Newfoundland Herald

EMC Entertainment - From high-energy rock and soul to bluegrass to Ottawa Valley fiddle music with a modern twist, the 2011 Smiths Falls Canal Railway Festival has it all.

From Friday, July 15 to Sunday, July 17 the main stage at Centennial Park will welcome up and coming talent from as far away as Nova Scotia, as well as some perennial local favourites.

Performing Friday night at 5 p.m. is singer/songwriter Lindsay Barr. The first time Barr sang O Canada with her public school classmates, she realized her voice stood out from the crowd. "My voice was more powerful than the other students," she recalled. "I had zero control over it, so I was more of a gadfly than a help."

Perfectly suited to the mix of country, rock and soul she specializes in today, Barr's voice still stands out from the crowd. She made it into the top 20 in the final season of Canadian Idol in 2008, and has received awards as best female vocalist in 2010 and best songwriter in 2011. One of her songs, 'Riot Queen', received a nomination for hip hop single of the year in the East Coast Music Awards.

A native of Labrador, Barr now lives in Peterborough, Ont., where she has established a solid base of fans through regular gigs at local venues. She recorded her debut album, 'Devils of Pride', in 2006 and released it the following year.

"I grew up in a family where art and music was forefront," Barr told the EMC in a recent interview. "I always sang at home, my family was very musical."

By the time she was 12, Barr was beginning to write poetry, and turned this into a talent for composing song lyrics. She also learned to play the guitar, inspired by an older brother. She would borrow his guitar while he was out of the house, and teach herself to play. When her brother tragically died at the age of 22 in a drowning accident, Barr decided to take art and music more seriously, having learned the lesson that "You live once, and that's it."

Barr attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, where she met two other musicians she decided were talented and committed enough to form a successful band. She decided to leave university and move back to Ontario. "I just packed up and took a risk and moved back."

Participating in the 2008 Canadian Idol competition, Barr recalled, was "nerve wracking in a lot of different ways," but was "a very enriching experience." - EMC

When it comes to personality, Barr has conered the market. Out there, enthusiastic, funny, she's crazy.

TAP - Ted Amsden

'Riot Queen' Lindsay Barr to play at O'Reilly's Friday
Posted May 12, 2011 By Chris Must

Email    Print   Tweet This

EMC Entertainment - The first time she sang O Canada with her public school classmates, Lindsay Barr realized her voice stood out from the crowd.

The singer/songwriter, who will be bringing her band to O'Reilly's Pub in Perth Friday, May 13, recalled, "My voice was more powerful than the other students. I had zero control over it, so I was more of a gadfly than a help."

Perfectly suited to the mix of country, rock and soul she specializes in today, Barr's voice still stands out from the crowd. She made it into the top 20 in the final season of Canadian Idol in 2008, and has received awards as best female vocalist in 2010 and best songwriter in 2011. One of her songs, 'Riot Queen', received a nomination for hip hop single of the year in the East Coast Music Awards.

A native of Labrador, Barr now lives in Peterborough, Ont., where she has established a solid base of fans through regular gigs at local venues. She recorded her debut album, 'Devils of Pride', in 2006 and released it the following year. Recording sessions for a followup five-song EP began this week at Newcomb Studios in Harwood. Barr said she calls the music "alt country blues." The title of the EP will be 'Dove and Dagger', which Barr said reflects "All things nice and bad in the same package."

"I grew up in a family where art and music was forefront," said Barr in an interview this week. "I always sang at home, my family was very musical."

In fact, the family had more than its share of artists of all kinds: actors, singers, painters, and even a member of the National Ballet. For Barr to become a singer, "It was almost like, 'join the gang.'"

By the time she was 12, Barr was beginning to write poetry, and turned this into a talent for composing song lyrics. She also learned to play the guitar, inspired by an older brother. She would borrow his guitar while he was out of the house, and teach herself to play. When her brother tragically died at the age of 22 in a drowning accident, Barr decided to take art and music more seriously, having learned the lesson that "You live once, and that's it."

Barr attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, where she met two other musicians she decided were talented and committed enough to form a successful band. She decided to leave university and move back to Ontario. "I just packed up and took a risk and moved back."

Participating in the 2008 Canadian Idol competition, Barr recalled, was "nerve wracking in a lot of different ways," but was "a very enriching experience." One thing she learned from "being shoved in front of the camera" during the competition was how to conduct herself in TV interviews. The key to working with the media, she said, is to "mean what you say, and say what you mean."

In 2006 Barr was the national model for Chevy Cobalt and starred in a high profile Chevy Cobalt commercial.

Now 29, Barr is a full-time musician and artist, who also sells her paintings. "It's meager, don't get me wrong," she laughed, adding that she keeps expenses down by cooking her own meals and not having a TV set.

Barr's band "The Bullys" also includes her partner Denis Coggin on lead guitar, P.J. Laconte, bass, and Troy Howard, drums.

Next stop for Barr is a songwriters' festival in Nashville, Tennessee, coming up John 4. The band will be back in this area Friday, July 15 for the Smiths Falls Canal and Railway Festival.



- Perth Newspaper

Completing the Songwriters’ Circle is one of Halifax’s best-kept secrets, Lindsay Barr. With her enthusiastic jazzy funk and soulful throaty vocals she is definitely a force to be reckoned with! Come see the future of Nova Scotia's music industry!
- Ships Company

"On the Newfoundland arts scene, Lindsay Barr had burned an indelible impression"

'Lindsay puts pen to paper with furious intensity" - The Evening Telegram

"...she is captivating to watch, completely uninhibited, and is an odd blend of lacy pretty and tattoed punky." - Toni Marie-Wiseman