Dave Barnes. Photo Credit: Rachel Parker.

In a rare New York City appearance, singer-songwriter Dave Barnes stood on the stage of B.B. King’s Blues Club (Oct. 12) with only his guitar as company. His intro for the Christian rock band Jars of Clay was as brief as it was richly poignant, pared down to the acoustic basics that Barnes crafts irresistibly well. Without a word of introduction, his Southern-lilted, rugged crooning took flight in “Grace’s Amazing Hands”, adorned with pungently raw but harmonious plucks of guitar. Selected from Barnes’ early album Brother, Bring the Sun, the track resonated with hearty soul and a curiously appealing quaintness, setting the evening’s brewing, down-to-earth ambience.

Though his dramatic jump into “Grace’s Amazing Hands” echoed the quietly introspective approach of alt-rock vocalist Dan Layus, Barnes emerged from the tune with charming wit, peppering the remainder of his set with comedic jests and playful quips. He strung together his tunes of love and life with endearing anecdotes of on-stage mishaps, even beckoning listeners to sing the chorus lines to “Little Lies” and “God Gave Me You”. The latter tune, however, saw more than just the audience’s back-up vocals. Jars of Clay band members Charlie Lowell and Matthew Odmark appeared on stage with the accordion and the ukulele respectively, underscoring Barnes’ guitar with an added layer of musical depth. But when left to his own passionate momentum, Barnes rose to full musical impact. The Tennessee-native brought “On A Night Like This” to magnetic radiance, delivering the sparse, romantic piece with lingering reflectiveness. Barnes took his time hitting the high inflections, though always reaching them with soul-drenched perfection and whole-hearted immersion.

Barnes’ musical artistry truly shone in his unplugged renditions of “Until You” and “You Give Me What I Need”, which on their respective albums (Me and You and the World and What We Want, What We Get) are propelled by powerful, rock-inspired rhythms. Without drums, a piano, or any instrumental accompaniment save for his guitar, Barnes propelled each tune forward with power of a different sort. Mingling his grainy vocals with lightly assertive guitar rhythms, he cleared through the fog of polished sound editing and loaded instrumental loops, bringing his music into its native, ruggedly pure context.