Barry "The Fish" Melton is one of the last living American guitar legends of the psychedelic 60's and we're delighted that he's coming to The Seamus Ennis Centre, when he performs in the Dublin area for the first time through his long and illustrious career  

 

Barry  was the co-founder and original lead guitarist of Country Joe & The Fish,. formed in  the Bay area of San Francisco in 1965.  Barry appeared on all their albums and wrote many of the songs that the band recorded. The band appeared at  Monterey Pop  Festival in 1967, the first of the great festivals, and later the most famous and biggest  festival ever - the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Country Joe & The Fish were featured in the films of the events, "Monterey Pop" and Martin Scorcese's 1970 film of the event "Woodstock". The latter was a  box office smash - during 1970 in the U.S.A alone it grossed $50 million. The triple  album of the film's soundtrack  was certified Gold on May 22, 1970, and Double  Platinum in 1993..

 

Barry  later formed The Dinosaurs, featuring a moving line-up of superstars of the San Francisco scene, including members  of Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and The Holding Company (Janis Joplin's band),Quicksilver Messenger Service. and many more, including Robert Hunter, the Grateful Dead lyricist,- who also co-wrote songs with Barry, and also  Bob Dylan.

 

Barry continues to have a very successful recording career; his last album was released in 2022 - a collaboration with the noted French musician Stephane Missri with their Paris based band Jamasutra.  He's also appeared on albums by blues legend Otis Spann and many others. . 

 

Barry is touring with the Californian based Canadian singer and guitarist Natalie Martel, playing as an acoustic duo. Natalie was the partner of another guitar legend, John Cippolina of Quicksilver Messenger Service. When John sadly passed in 1989, after  she became personal assistant to Bill Graham, the top American promoter, tour manager and impresario, until his death in 1991 in a helicopter crash. Natalie and Barry Melton have been playing together as a duo for the past five years, and their first recordings together will soon be released.