Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe L Barnes.
Hi Joe L, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was a kid, my brother would take me on trips back and forth from Kentucky to Atlanta. On those trips, he would write songs and we would bounce ideas off each other. I quickly began to fall in love with music. We would sing at the top of our lungs, crack goofy jokes, and dream of writing the songs that would cause the world to dance.
When I turned 16, I wrote my very first song. It was terrible and you’ll never hear it. At 18, my brother and I wrote my first album entitled “Not in Vain.” It was amazing for that season, but again, you will never hear it. At the age of 20, I began traveling with a full-time ministry that opened my eyes to worship.
Throughout my years in the ministry, I would write, sing, lead, dance, bend, bow, roll, cry, anything and everything that would express and/or communicate the feelings in my heart towards the Lord.
I moved to Covington, Georgia in February of 2020 and this is the moment everything changed. In finding a home, I began to recognize that God wanted a relationship with me rather than a false illusion of perfection. In this new revelation of the Lord, I began to explore the depths and heights of this extravagant love.
I was always aware that my dreams were bigger than me and my small hometown. Though they were so big, they never seemed unachievable.
I wasn’t afraid of failing, I was terrified of not trying.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There has absolutely been struggles along the way. I think that we have just been trying to find our way day by day. We all make mistakes and owning a business and being an artist is not for the faint of heart. One of the struggles have been finding my own sound. I think that you will only be a replica of another artist until you find your own unique sound of authenticity. I have learned to be comfortable and confident in my own voice while choking out the lie of comparison. At the end of the day, my team and I have agreed that when mistakes are made, we choose to fail forward and grow from it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a songwriter, artist, and I own a business called “For Every Dreamer.” My heart in it is to provide a space for people like me who have big dreams and simply need permission to go for it. To find the thing that makes their heart come alive and to go after the things that they have been told are just beyond their reach.
I am most proud of the people that I have impacted in my immediate reach, opposed to the mass of people that have simply heard my music. I think sometimes we get so caught up in the masses that we forget to feed the 25 people around us.
I think what sets us (me and the people at For Every Dreamer) apart is that we do not find our identity in our accomplishments. Because have found our identity in simply being loved, we can accomplish anything.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
You can go to my website foreverydreamer.com to purchase my merch, find my online songwriting class, and find out more about who I am as an artist. You can support me by listening to my music (search Joe L Barnes) on any streaming platform.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://foreverydreamer.com/
- Instagram: iamjoe_l
- Facebook: Joe L Barnes
- Twitter: iamjoe_l
- Youtube: Joe L Barnes
