By Nick J. Buckley for Black Squirrel News
BATTLE CREEK — The first time Julie Lahr sang professionally, she kicked off her shoes.
Nervous and tangled in microphone cords while performing in heels, Lahr decided she would feel more comfortable barefoot. The choice stuck and inspired the name of the band she would form years later: Barefoot Blonde.
“I hate shoes, and I always worry about tripping,” Lahr said.
More than a decade after launching Barefoot Blonde in 2013, Lahr and her bandmates have become familiar faces across the local live music scene, performing roughly 65 shows a year at festivals, bars, breweries and community events around Calhoun County and beyond.
The current lineup includes drummer Joe Bradley, guitarist and vocalist Lee Bouchard and bassist Dave Homer, who also handles sound for the group. While the musicians have changed over the years, Lahr said the current arrangement has stayed together for about five years.
“It’s just perfect,” Lahr said. “They’re just awesome guys.”
In recent years, Lahr has taken to calling the group “the blonde and the dudes with shoes,” a nod to the bond she said she has with Bradley, Bouchard and Homer.
Before fronting her own band, Lahr said she started as a karaoke singer and local musicians encouraged her to try performing with a live group. After spending time in a couple local bands and learning more about performing and running sound, she eventually bought her own PA system and started Barefoot Blonde herself.
The band performs an eclectic mix of music spanning from the 1960s through current hits. Lahr said the group intentionally avoids sticking to a single genre, instead focusing on songs people will recognize and dance to.
“We throw stuff at the wall, see what sticks,” she said.
To keep performances fresh, the band regularly rotates songs in and out of its set list, often testing new material over several shows before deciding whether it stays.
Though Barefoot Blonde has become a regular presence at community events, Lahr said the band’s motivation has never centered on fame or money.
“We’re not getting rich and famous here, and that’s never been the goal,” she said. “I think we just do it because we love the music and love to play with each other and get it right.”
For Lahr, local live music is ultimately about bringing people together and seeing them “interact and get off their phones.”
How to hear them
Barefoot Blonde will perform in the first semifinal round of Battle Creek Battle of the Bands from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 15 at New Holland Brewing alongside Bombshell and Allie Garland with Awesome Sauce.
How we reported this
This report was written following a phone interview with Julie Lahr, vocalist and founder of Barefoot Blonde, as well as reporting and photography from prior live performances.
Photos by Nick J. Buckley
