You have probably heard the name Robin Barnes before – maybe because of her outstanding 2016 EP “Songbird Sessions” – maybe because of her standing weekly gigs at the Polo Club on Fridays and Saturdays or the Spotted Cat on Sundays or maybe because of the international success of her Move Ya Brass and Twerk Ya Brass fitness movements. As soon as you think of her as doing one thing, she has added something exciting and new. Today Robin debuts her new single “You Give Me.” This song helps capture the power and intensity of her live performances in a way that none of her recordings have to this point. I spoke with Barnes about the single and how it came about.
“When I wrote this song, it organically happened from one of our live performances, which I always have the same thing happen when people see me live. They go, ‘Oh my God, I saw you at this festival…and you were so fire and passionate! And I can’t seem to find [a recording] of those songs.’ …It’s interesting because I realized, I never thought to really take the energy and the power of one of my live shows, one of my festival shows and try to…share it in a way that people can stream it and take it home. And I know that sounds so silly, but it’s like, being from New Orleans, we’re so used to playing live, you sometimes forget that the difference between live versus recording, so I really wanted to capture what a live show would sound like.”
Part of capturing that sound necessitated treating the studio like a stage, “We literally just played the song, we’ve been playing the song for years, and instead of being like, ‘Okay, let’s get a quick track, let’s overthink this, let’s try to break it down and build it up and this and that.’ Nope, we put everyone in a different room and we all just played the song. And, it was crazy because we only needed two to three takes.”
What makes this track work is a blend of the personal and the universal that speaks broadly across audiences. To hear Robin tell it, “I always write, and I’m always writing down ideas and feelings, and when I say ideas I mean how something made me feel. I always try to come from a place of expressing myself with how I felt at a certain time, and for some reason with my writing I’m able to remember the big moments in life.”
“You Give Me” is a truly great song and is fundamentally steeped in the traditions of New Orleans music as well as being distinctly Robin.
Come help Robin celebrate this big moment Saturday when she plays NOLA on Tap at the City Park Festival Grounds. Check out the song at her website.
National Fried Chicken Festival This Weekend
Starting today, the National Fried Chicken Festival returns to Woldenberg Park for an expanded three day event. Obviously, the food will be great and it is accompanied by an excellent musical lineup as well. Some daily recommendations below.
Friday:
Main Stage
12 p.m. The Brass-A-Holics
3 p.m. Givers
7:30 p.m. Cha Wa
Saturday:
Main Stage
2 p.m. Khris Royal and Dark Matter
6:30 p.m. Bonerama
8 p.m. Bounce Royalty
Sunday:
NOLA Culture Pavillion
12 p.m. One Groove Brass Band
Main Stage
12:30 p.m. Dwayne Dopsie and The Zydeco Hellraisers
2 p.m. St. Augustine Marching Band
Also Going on This Week
Tonight the Music for Mental Health concert is at Gasa Gasa with Kristin Diable, Paul Sanchez and more. Also tonight, you can catch the Pine Leaf Boys at d.b.a. which remarkable experimental noise rocker Pharmakon will be at Santos Bar. Saturday, amazing one man band—That 1 Guy is at Gasa Gasa and the Seratones are at One Eyed Jacks while Reggie Scanlan, Uganda Roberts and Billy Iuso take the late shift at the SideBar. Sunday, Thou is at One Eyed Jacks. Monday, Mega Bog is at Gasa Gasa while John Boutte plays d.b.a. and Charmaine Neville does two sets at Snug Harbor. Tuesday, The Messthetics are at Gasa Gasa while Deep Purple visits the Saenger and The Head and The Heart play the Fillmore. Wednesday, Jason Neville and the Funky Soul Band are the late show at The Maison while the Uptown Jazz Orchestra does two sets at Snug Harbor. Thursday, JD McPherson is at One Eyed Jacks while Super Doppler play Gasa Gasa and Mike Dillon drops in at the Portside Lounge.
To Listen This Week
- Weezer have announced a new record Van Weezer and shared new single “End of the Game” check out their live performance via Youtube
- Lucy Dacus has released a great cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” via Youtube
- In memory of Daniel Johnston here is his astounding cover of the Beach Boys “God Only Knows” via Youtube