“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations” 

The Barefoot Movement’s Noah Wall has a button adorned with this quote pinned against the crimson velvet lining of her violin case. Yesterday evening, the roads led the quartet to the gazebo at Voice of America Park. The group played against the scenic backdrop of the lake, setting sun, and hundreds of ducks who occasionally decided to provide backing vocals. 


The group has been paving the roads since 2012 earning praise from CMT Edge, The Daily Country, Adam Steffey, featured in award winning documentaries, and were the 2014 IBMA Momentum Award winners for “Band of the Year”. Any difficulties they may be facing have not diminished their spirits, passion, or love of music.

Huddled around a singular Ear Trumpet Labs “Louise” microphone projecting balanced harmonies, the band consists of Noah Wall (fiddle/vocals), Tommy Norris (mandolin/vocals), Alex Connerly (guitar/vocals), and Katie Blomarz (upright bass/vocals) the band opened their set with “My Little Darling”, “Bowling Green”, and “Sheepherder” (a personal favorite of mine). The two-hour set spanned a bulk of their music and gave everyone in the audience something they could enjoy. 

Their music is easily defined as bluegrass, but they each add their own influences and unique twists making it a little harder to define. You can hear subtle (and not so subtle) influences from old time string bands, jazz, classic rock, funk, and even metal. The set last night was fused with some covers of classic rock, funk, and a fantastic mash-up of The Beach Boys “409” and Ozzy Osborne’s “Crazy Train.” 

If you are a fan of artists like Chris Thile, Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellies, Mandolin Orange, and Ozzy, you need to add The Barefoot Movement to your playlists.