Biography
Growing up in Kentucky left James Reams with an enduring attachment to bluegrass that relocation never erased. After moving north to Brooklyn, he kept performing and promoting traditional bluegrass and old-time music. More than a dozen years into his New York residency, Reams launched an annual event called the Park Slope Bluegrass/Old-Time Jamboree, the only festival of its kind in the Big Apple, which regularly attracts roughly 500 performers. His recordings and his work expanding the music’s reach earned him two nicknames that nod to both his birthplace and his adopted home: “The Kentucky Songbird” and “The Father of Brooklyn Bluegrass.”
Reams spent his childhood on a Kentucky farm immersed in music. Inside a cabin with a dirt floor, he listened eagerly while his father and the father’s friends played guitar, banjo, and fiddle. His father also appeared with a band at local gatherings that included square dances. Female relatives joined in as well; Reams’ mother and aunts supplied vocals at family music sessions. At age twelve the future musician received his first guitar lessons from his father. His earliest public performance took place before a church congregation, where he backed a gospel trio.
Reams formed the Barnstormers in 1993, a band that remains active. He serves as its lead singer and guitarist. The other members are Mark Farrell on harmony vocals, fiddle, and mandolin; banjo player Mickey Maguire; and Carl Hayano, who adds harmony vocals and stand-up bass.
Reams spent his childhood on a Kentucky farm immersed in music. Inside a cabin with a dirt floor, he listened eagerly while his father and the father’s friends played guitar, banjo, and fiddle. His father also appeared with a band at local gatherings that included square dances. Female relatives joined in as well; Reams’ mother and aunts supplied vocals at family music sessions. At age twelve the future musician received his first guitar lessons from his father. His earliest public performance took place before a church congregation, where he backed a gospel trio.
Reams formed the Barnstormers in 1993, a band that remains active. He serves as its lead singer and guitarist. The other members are Mark Farrell on harmony vocals, fiddle, and mandolin; banjo player Mickey Maguire; and Carl Hayano, who adds harmony vocals and stand-up bass.
Albums
