Michael Barnett

Nashville native Michael Barnett has been immersed in bluegrass and country music since picking up the fiddle at the age of four. His youth was spent learning his craft at fiddle camps and workshops where he was exposed to a multitude of styles and influences. After recording his first album at the age of 14, the young Barnett met legendary mandolinist Jesse McReynolds and soon found himself touring with his bluegrass outfit the Virginia Boys and playing regularly at the Grand Ole Opry. When Barnett later relocated to Massachusetts to attend Berklee, he continued to expand his art through collaborations with Boston mandolinist Joe Walsh, folksinger Jonathan Edwards, and progressive New England bluegrass act Northern Lights. While touring with influential banjo player Tony Trischka, he met Crooked Still member Greg Liszt, and the two formed the Americana band the Deadly Gentlemen, who went on to record a pair of albums for Rounder Records. It was a successful and rewarding partnership for Barnett, though he eventually decided to resume his solo career, leaving the band in 2014 and releasing One Song Romance later that year. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi