Bob Barrick
Named for the creek that runs by his childhood home, “Little Cicero” tracks Bob Barrick’s course from humble roots as a preacher’s kid in Noblesville, Indiana to an accomplished songwriter on the Colorado Front Range.
Through 11 songs, he and collaborators Marshall Hayes, Katie Burns, Tom Yaron, & Molly Kollier baptize themes of isolation, existentialism, and war in a river of acoustic instrumentation. Listeners might recognize reflections of folk masters like Gordon Lightfoot and Jim Croce alongside contemporaries David Rawlings and Glen Hansard.
Little Cicero is a truly independent project, produced at Broadway Music Studios in Boulder, CO, by Barrick and his fellow resident engineers, Jackson Prince & Sam Dorrance. Conceptually, the trio sought to capture the most live possible version of each track, committing to most recordings in two or three takes.
Its release follows a similar philosophy with each track set for individual release every month of 2024, accompanied by a live video performance from a private barn in Longmont, CO.
“At times, Barrick’s vocal tone is reminiscent of “Right Down the Line” singer Gerry Rafferty, who topped the charts in the ‘70s. At others, tinges of Cat Stevens, John Denver, and James Taylor surface.There’s a certain nostalgic vibe to his delivery, one that provides a similar authenticity and feel akin to Laurel Canyon greats.” - Boulder Daily Camera
Barrick began writing music in earnest in college at Butler University in Indianapolis alongside his band, Coyote Armada. Taking up refuge in the university recording industries complex, he and collaborators Joshua Lee Turner and Sam Dorrance pumped out three albums, Kai Oats, Crime Wave, and How Not To Be Lonely.
Upon graduation and the band’s dissolution, Barrick and Turner developed a duo project called Kingdom Jasmine. Together, they moved to New York City, played the Brooklyn bar circuit, and released Kingdom Jasmine and Armed & Dangerous to niche acclaim. Alongside Carson McKee of The Other Favorites, they found themselves a viral hit with a YouTube cover of John Prine’s Paradise.
The moment, however, was short-lived, as a fateful trip to Nederland, Colorado for the Frozen Dead Days Festival inspired Barrick to move to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, taking the name Kingdom Jasmine along with him. In the Boulder, CO singer-songwriter community, Bob found quick success, opening for the likes of Josiah Johnson (The Head & The Heart) and Graham Lesh (Phil Lesh & the Terrapin Family Band). He also landed slots at the Underground Music Showcase in Denver, CO, and the Winter Folk Festival in Longmont, CO.
In 2019, he stumbled into Broadway Music Studios in Boulder to record vocals for his upcoming album, Anyone Seen The Light?, where he met producer Jackson Prince, who would serve as a close collaborator during the final two Kingdom Jasmine albums. 2022’s Local Nobody, written and produced with Prince, was Barrick’s deepest foray into psychedelic rock. Shortly thereafter, he dropped the Kingdom Jasmine moniker.
Welcomed on as studio manager at Broadway Music Studios and returning to his given name, Barrick hit the ground running in 2023 by releasing a pair of singles packaged as Hoosier Sweet alongside ex-bandmate Joshua Lee Turner. In April 2023, the pair performed an afternoon “Strings and Stories” set at the renowned Bluebird Music Festival, hosted at Macky Auditorium on the campus of the University of Colorado. In May 2023, he released Pickin’ On Myself, only his second solo release in a catalog of 9 LPs/EPs.