American singer-songwriter

Jonathan Byrd

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American singer-songwriter
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Jonathan Byrd (born 1970 in Fayetteville, North Carolina) is an American singer-songwriter based in Carrboro, North Carolina. He is best known for his narrative tales of love, life, and death in America. In 2003, he was among the winners of the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival. He set a record for CD sales at the festival that year, making more sales than the main stage acts. His song, "The Ballad of Larry" has been listed a "Top Rated Song" by Americana-UK. He primarily performs solo and accompanies himself in a variety of traditional acoustic guitar styles. His recordings have featured a variety of instrumental ensembles and typically include one or more instrumental tracks that feature Byrd's skillful flatpicking technique. Occasionally he also appears with the Athens, Georgia based world music duo, Dromedary.

Jonathan Byrd teamed up with Chris Kokesh after meeting her at the Americana Song Academy and the duo released a self-titled album under the name The Barn Birds in 2013.

In 2014, Byrd released You Can't Outrun The Radio, a collection of songs inspired by an impromptu song circle in 2009 at the Green Room in Montreal.