GRAHAM BARHAM - Bayou Boy - Sony Music Nashville/Disrupter Records

Upon last month’s announcement of his signing with Sony Music Nashville, Graham Barham immediately took the momentum he had already established with songs such as “Beer By My Bed,” “Two Broke Hearts,” and “Preachers Need People” to a much wider audience with his addictive label debut, “LIGHTS ON NOBODY’S HOME.” 

The ultra-modern fusion of sonic sounds guided him to a distinction as southern pop twang, fitting him squarely in line with the here and now while instantly stamping his place as one to watch in 2024.

He now returns with the small-town anthem, “Bayou Boy.”

Taking us straight out to where he grew up as our own personal guide for a map dot tour through the heart of Louisiana, the swampiness flirting its way through the modern infused aura lends itself perfectly to the Cajun country atmosphere of the song, allowing his drawl to slide through descriptives in each of the verses as he paints the picture of his hometown.

Tapping directly into the small-town way of life, he upholds that the bayou boys are a little more on the risky side, that they sneak water bottle whiskey into the hometown football games, and that they can navigate a fan boat through the swamps, but ultimately, that they know a lot of backwoods know-how you don’t learn from a book; “how to kill a cottonmouth with a dull shovel,” “how to get some sugar round a cane field fire,” etc.

While using the verses to build strong connection with the heart of the small-town born and raised, the chorus raises a red solo cup to the very essence of who they are at their core and what made them that way, boldly inviting you as the outsider to try and understand:

“Way down yonder off the Mississippi

There’s a little town of a 150

Cypress knees sticking outta holy water

Sun’s about as hot as the farmer’s daughter

Catchin’ crawfish in a ditch off a road

Sunday morning praying in your Mossy Oak

Mardi Gras dancing catching beads

Hurricane twisted c’est la vie

If you don’t know nothing about ducks and gators

Two finger waves and see ya later’s

Slinging delta dirt on jacked up toys

You ain’t never been down to the bayou boy”

As Graham Barham continues to unveil his latest material, he’s expertly building upon the foundations that he’s already laid down while taking his signature feels and incorporating fresh, new elements into them that allows newcomers to understand exactly who he is as an artist and songwriter. “Bayou Boy” is a clear definition of who he is; an autobiographical introduction that intriguingly makes you want to know more.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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