Emily Barnes - “Warren County”

If you close your eyes and imagine what the the state of Colorado might sound like if it were set to music, your ears would likely fill with the lovely voice of Emily Barnes. Barnes arrives on the blog with her new single, “Warren County,” a track that “takes you through the challenges of growing up in a small town and the struggle to escape it.”

And we’re no strangers to small town life, as documented by the many songs that trickle through our website, but, with limited instrumentation, “Warren County” paints the listener quite a vivid picture. The song contains little more than some synth pads and an acoustic guitar, but the sonic space is wide and it cradles Barnes’ voice as though it were a stream flowing between two peaks. The soft percussion and vocal harmonies join in for the chorus and one cannot help but imagine the song playing as the opening credits roll across some Rocky Mountain film that has yet to be made, beckoning to the listener that there is “a world outside of Warren County.”

As far as we can tell, this is Barnes’ first release since 2019 and, hopefully, not the last we will hear from her in the near future. Only time will tell, but, until then, be sure to give this one a few spins. And if you’re in the area, Barnes will be playing with Harlow at The Lodge in Denver on Friday, January 27th.