Meredith Carson welcomed Emily Barnes into the studio for KGNU’s Morning Sound Alternative for an intimate live session ahead of her annual show at Swallow Hill Music. Barnes performed several unreleased songs from an upcoming record, including deeply personal reflections on family, aging, poverty, and community, alongside conversations about her life as a self-taught songwriter and nurse working in end-of-life care in Denver.
During the interview, Barnes discussed growing up in New Jersey, finding her voice through songwriting, and using music as “an act of service” to connect with listeners navigating hardship and uncertainty. She also shared details about her new single “Comets,” her collaborative Swallow Hill performance featuring Bridget Benson, Chris Koza, and Tony Manguera, and the audience’s role in helping shape her next album. (Air Date 5/15/26)
Listen to the studio session here:
Transcript:
Meredith Carson: Emily Barnes in the studio with us this morning. Emily, your guitar strap is so beautiful. Hand-tooled with your name. So pretty.
Emily Barnes: Thank you.
Meredith Carson: You’re welcome. It’s great to see you.
Emily Barnes: It’s great to see you too.
Meredith Carson: And it’s a gig day for you, or is your show tomorrow?
Emily Barnes: My show is tomorrow.
Meredith Carson: Not gig day—early. All right. You’re playing Swallow Hill tomorrow evening. Please tell us about your show.
Emily Barnes: I’m really excited. I do a show annually at Swallow Hill. This will be my third year in a row doing it, and I feel very grateful that they keep asking me back. It’s my favorite night of the year.
This year I’m doing all new songs, so nothing that’s recorded yet. The audience gets to participate in the making of my new record by helping decide which songs will go into the studio this fall. I’m really looking forward to sharing those.
I have Bridget Benson opening. She’s another local songwriter. Chris Koza is joining me on guitar and harmonies, and Tony Manguera is playing fiddle, so it’s going to be a little different than my usual shows. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
Meredith Carson: Very cool. So you are Denver-based. Did you grow up in Denver?
Emily Barnes: I did not. I’m from New Jersey originally. I’ve been here about 10 years.
Meredith Carson: Smart move.
Emily Barnes: I love being a Jersey girl, but I never want to live there again in this lifetime.
Meredith Carson: I grew up in Texas. I kind of feel the same way about it.
Emily Barnes: I feel a real kinship with Texans because we are really proud of where we come from, but a lot of us leave. It’s such an interesting thing. But we like all of those parts too. They make us who we are.
Meredith Carson: Homegrown. They contribute for sure.
Have you done things at or with Swallow Hill other than doing a concert there once a year? Have you taught there or taken lessons there?
Emily Barnes: I have not taught or taken lessons there, although I know several people who have. I’ve actually never taught music, even though this is what I do. I always say I don’t think I’m the best teacher because I’m self-taught, so I don’t know how to teach somebody else. I actually don’t know any theory, which is probably not something I should admit.
Meredith Carson: A whole lot of people who have made a whole lot of records don’t know any theory.
Emily Barnes: But I have done a bunch of their open mics. I go see concerts there frequently. Most recently I saw Mae Earlywine there, and she’s a favorite of mine.
Meredith Carson: We went to John Craigie doing his Beatles thing last night. It was fabulous.
Emily Barnes: I saw the marquee and was really excited for that one because it’s him and Carleigh Blanton. Selfishly, I wanted to go see that marquee.
Meredith Carson: All right. Enough about other people’s shows. Let’s hear some music from you. Will you play a couple?
Emily Barnes: I sure will. I’ll play a couple of new ones that we’ll be showcasing at Swallow Hill.
Emily Barnes: I always think of my music as an act of service more than anything else. I feel like it’s important to talk about the hard stuff. I don’t look like the face of welfare, but I grew up on it, and it’s something that’s really near and dear to my heart.
When I’m not playing music, I’m a nurse in Denver, and I do a lot of community work. This is a song about growing up on welfare in the Northeast.
Meredith Carson: Emily Barnes live on KGNU’s Morning Sound Alternative. That’s an amazing song.
Emily Barnes: Thank you.
Meredith Carson: Really amazing. And you grew up and worked hard and became a nurse.
Emily Barnes: I actually became a nurse later in life too. I went back to school in my late twenties and graduated in my early thirties as a nurse.
Sometimes we’re dealt different hands, and that’s why I think it’s really important to talk about these things. I never used to. It took a while for me to find my voice and recognize that we’re supposed to write our truths and the songs we resonate with.
Music saved my life in many ways, which is a story for another time. But I realize there are a lot of people out there who need those songs because I needed them when I was younger, and I didn’t always have them. I felt pretty isolated growing up like that.
I want people not to feel that way. Someone you know is probably wondering how they’re going to get to the end of the month.
Meredith Carson: Probably a lot of people right now.
Emily Barnes: A lot of people right now. We need to give what we can and lift each other up because my community did that for me, and that’s why I’m here. I’m really grateful for those people.
Meredith Carson: There are so many ways to do that. Being a nurse is a massive contribution to our society and our world, and making music about things that are deep in you matters too. You know you’re not alone. There’s always someone who has experienced a lot of the same things.
Emily Barnes: I couldn’t agree more. That’s why music and the arts are so important, especially right now.
Meredith Carson: You’ve just released a new single, “Comets.” Where can people find that?
Emily Barnes: It’s on all the usual streaming platforms—Spotify, Apple Music. Personally, I like Apple Music over Spotify. They do a little more for the artist. You can also listen right on my website or Bandcamp, and you can purchase it too.
Meredith Carson: And your website is EmilyBarnesMusic.com?
Emily Barnes: EmilyBarnesMusic.com.
Meredith Carson: Emily, just like it sounds. Would you sing us another song?
Emily Barnes: I will. We’ve talked a little behind the scenes about aging and letting our hair go gray.
Meredith Carson: Which hers isn’t, by the way. Mine is, totally.
Emily Barnes: You can’t see under the hair dye. It is gray, actually. In the last couple of years I’ve gone very gray. I won’t hide it forever, but I’m getting married this year—in five weeks—so I want to look like I’m in my thirties for one day only.
I think a lot about getting older and end of life. I do a lot of end-of-life care at work. I’ve never heard a family or seen somebody in those moments talk about the pimple they had or the five pounds they gained or whether their hair was gray. They talk about intimate, beautiful moments from their lives.
I’m honored to hear those stories and soak them in. Sometimes we all need that reminder. This song is about taking the good things with you, and it’s not that superficial stuff.
Meredith Carson: Emily Barnes live in the KGNU studios. Another beautiful song, Emily.
Emily Barnes: Thank you.
Meredith Carson: You can hear her tomorrow night at Swallow Hill in Denver. Doors at 7:00, show at 8:00.
Emily Barnes: Bridget Benson kicks things off, and then me.
Meredith Carson: That will be so much fun. Thank you so much for taking the time to come by this morning.
Emily Barnes: Thank you so much for having me. It’s been a real pleasure.
Meredith Carson: You are so welcome.
