I have a feeling that 2024 will be a pivotal year for Sam Barber.
He is already well on his way to being the next major act in country music as he quickly grew his fan base last year after the release of his singles “Drowning” and his crowd favorite “Dancing In The Sky.” He followed those up with his first EP, Million Eyes, which quite literally… put a million eyes on the young artist.
Today, Barber put out his first live project, Live EP 001. I am a sucker for a live project because it highlights the raw talent of an artist, and you typically can hear how the crowd interacts with the artist from short stories or hoops and hollers throughout the songs.
However, Sam Barber’s fans show they are on another level with this EP. You can hear the crowd roaring in the background throughout each song on his setlist. I can only imagine how loud these folks truly were, given Barber was the one that was mic’d up.
From the first strums of a guitar opening each song, you can hear the audience members cheering wildly, and it just becomes louder once Barber starts to sing the lyrics. His fans are right there with him, not missing a word from any of the songs throughout his set. I’m not going to lie… it’s honestly impressive.
I consider myself a super fan of a few artists, and I am belting out words with them. But, now and again, I miss a word or two or just want to listen. Not Barbers fans. It’s almost as though they are feeding into him, allowing him to sing his lyrics even more powerfully. Reminds me of a Zach Bryan show in some ways.
If this is how loud his audience is with him only having an EP out, imagine how loud they will become when they have a whole album to sing along to. The crowd even starts chanting, “album, album, album,” after the last song on the EP. While I love the film inspiration of the EP being named Live EP 001, it was really a missed marketing opportunity not to name it Sam Barber & Co. or even Sam Barber & This Harmonious Choir because the crowd is just as much a part of this EP as he is.
Take a listen for yourself.
“Straight And Narrow”
“Dancing In The Sky”
