Robin Barnes
With a voice that is as powerful with a whisper as it is with a bellow, contemporary New Orleans jazz singer Robin Barnes is here to stun audiences.
Barnes grew up surrounded by jazz sounds, but it was a memorable experience with her church choir as a girl that made her realize that music would be her future.
“Growing up, all the children at my church were encouraged to join choir,” she said. “The first mass after my mom made me join (yes, she made me), I was given a solo in ‘Ave Maria.’ I closed my eyes and sung my heart out and when I opened them, I only looked at my mother. She was crying along with the rest of the congregation. That’s when I realized how moving music was, and that I wanted to sing for the rest of my life.”
As Robin grew older and mainstream music began to take hold, she began to marry the old and the new to create her own unique blend of funky jazz, soul and R&B. By captivating audiences with her renditions of popular songs and contemporary classics, she makes each song her own.
“Anything with music to me, I like to paint a story,” she said. “I hope I’m able to take people to another place and give them more of an experience.”
In addition to being an award winning artist, she’s also one of the city of New Orleans’ biggest ambassadors, and she proudly carries the official distinction of the “Songbird of New Orleans.”
“Her husky, billowy cloud of a voice harkens memories of those big-natured golden jazz heroines, a little Ella, an early Billie Holiday, the snap and sass of a Bessie Smith, infinite possibilities to adulterate the system in a Lalah Hathaway — jazz and gospel, blues and soul, all in one powerful punch,” wrote Carol Banks Weber at AXS.com.
“She’s the songbird of New Orleans,” wrote Emily Hingle in Where Y’at Magazine. “And she’s got a voice as smooth as velvet. Robin’s gorgeous, rich voice reminds me of Ella Fitzgerald: natural, deep and full of personality.”
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