A local musician is crossing a dream off his to-do list in the coming months.
Sam Barber of Frohna announced on his Instagram page that he will be making his headlining debut at the historic Ryman Auditorium this fall, on October 4.
He called it a “bucket list” moment.
This is another step in Barber’s musical journey as he played at the Grand Ole Opry in September 2023. Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry may be two different buildings, but they have a lot of shared history. Both iconic places have served as homes to the Grand Ole Opry radio show and have played an important role in the popularity of country music.
“It was truly an honor and an experience I will never forget,” Barber said on his Facebook page of playing at the Opry.
He performed with Riley Clemmons, the Cleverlys, Opry member Ashley McBryde and more.
Sam’s music journey has been completely unplanned and his success continues to astound him. When he was 16, Sam picked up his great grandfather’s Gibson, out of tune with 5 strings and fell in love with the art of playing. He soon learned that he also had the God-given talent to sing along. Sam’s vision is to continue to grow and become stronger as a vocalist and songwriter. He wants to deliver songs that people feel in their soul. Above all, he wants to stay true to his faith, the man he truly is, and the type of music he wants to make without boundaries or conforming.
Since releasing Drowning in March, Sam’s social reach has soared past half a million followers and garnered over 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Sam has hit the Global viral charts and reached #1 in multiple countries.
Barber recently played in London in July as a supporting actor for Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park.
In early 2022, Barber auditioned for the long-time television singing competition American Idol.
He did better than maybe even he expected of himself. Barber was able to earn a golden ticket as he sang in front of this year’s three American Idol judges, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. Barber was not able to watch his audition on television as his was one that did not air on the American Idol audition shows.
“His audition did not air. They only show about 1/3 of the bigger stories, “Sam’s mother Carla said in a Facebook post on March 21. “What a great experience he had. Maybe we will see him during Hollywood week. Thanks everybody that has been watching for him.”
Sam felt like the audition process and actually earning the golden ticket was a great..
“This was a great experience,” Sam Barber said in a Facebook post. “Thank you all for your continued support and kind words. It means more than you will ever know!!”
From there, Barber flew to California and participated in the show’s “Hollywood Week.” Barber was in the Indie/Folk group in an attempt to make the American Idol live performance shows.
Unfortunately Barber would not be so lucky. He was eliminated, but felt like advancing was a dream come true.
“Thank you all so much for the support I have had going into and coming out of this unreal experience. If you would have told me two years ago I would be on that stage in front of @katyperry @lukebryan and @lionelrichie with thousands of people hoping for me to move on I would have called you insane,” Barber said. “So, once again thank you and I hope you enjoy this short clip of me nervous as all get out singing in front of 3 music icons.”
