The Barefoot Movement is an acoustic trio with members hailing from Granville County , North Carolina and Oneida, TN. The group fuses the styles of bluegrass, old-time, Americana, and rock, creating an eclectic, original sound, featuring interweaving harmonies, progressive instrumentation, and accomplished songwriting.

Biography

The Barefoot Movement is an acoustic trio with members hailing from north-central North Carolina to middle Tennessee. The group draws from the styles of bluegrass, folk, Americana, and rock, creating a fresh, original sound, featuring interweaving harmonies, lively instrumentation, and accomplished songwriting. The resulting sound is sometimes soft and smooth, and other times it brings on a downright foot-stomping good time.

When singer-songwriter and violinist Noah Wall left North Carolina to attend school at East Tennessee State, she hoped to meet and learn from a wide variety of musicians while a student of the Bluegrass, Old-time, and Country Music program offered there. Soon she was acquainted with guitarist and banjo player David Rich during a class on the folk music of America. When they discovered their musical chemistry, their solitary dreams were unified and soon became the reality that they both had been seeking. With the addition of Wall's long time friend and band-mate, mandolin player Tommy Norris, the three began searching for every venue that would give them the chance to play.

Wall's lead vocals channel the blues, jazz, and folk sounds of singers who influence her, such as Eva Cassidy, Patty Griffin, and Allison Moorer. Rich's percussive guitar and traditionally-based banjo styles provide a unique contrast to Norris's mandolin and Wall's fiddle. With original songs by Wall, and instrumental pieces by Norris, the material is truly a force to be reckoned with.

The name "The Barefoot Movement" has many different meanings for the group. "The initial reason the name dawned on me was because there was I time when I never wore shoes at performances", says Noah. "But I would say that what it really means refers to the saying, 'You can't judge a man till you've walked a mile in his shoes.' So, if you eliminate shoes, then you can't judge anyone at all. Beyond that, there's just something special about being barefoot in the
summertime."

The Barefoot Movement is taking folk music somewhere new without forgetting the old. They bring listeners something that is missing from the radio airwaves; something that people can relate to-something they can truly understand. Everyone who hears them agrees, and if you give them a listen, you will too, The Barefoot Movement is contagious.