Greetings Brainwashers,

Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Bekah Barnett, the Urban Minstrel, and I am really looking forward to playing for you at this year’s Brainwash Movie Festival. I find it pretty appropriate because I have been told on multiple occasions that my music tends to be cinematic in feel and scope. My songs vary widely and range from humorous and upbeat to mournful and haunting and everything in between. I even have a song that is about Amelia Earhart.

I studied Classical and Operatic Voice at Mills College (class of 2002) and also started writing songs during that time. I have been writing songs for over ten years and performing them at venues in the Bay Area such as The Freight and Salvage, The Hotel Utah, and The Bazaar Cafe. I recently completed a very successful collaborative show at The East Bay Media Center with a local cellist, and I am pretty sure I’ll be able to convince him to join me on one or more days of the festival.

People often ask me about the process of writing songs. For me, songs are like journal entries, they are just natural byproducts of my life. Each one brings to life a different moment or mood that struck me at a particular time. My style has been described as Tori Amos meets Leonard Cohen, and I have also been compared to Regina Spektor, Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple, Laura Nero, and Dar Williams to name a few.

I am honored to be a part of the 2012 Brainwash Movie Festival, and I look forward to seeing you all there.

Best,
Bekah

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”