Listen to a new episode of PIVOT, a show brought to you by YNS Live with NFL Thread recorded live on Fireside with hosts Juliet Hahn and Cynthia Zordich featuring special guests Joe and Bri Barksdale.

 

Singer, songwriter, and producer Joe Barksdale describes his musical path as beginning with “gospel, rap, soul, and R&B, the four major food groups for black, inner-city Detroit.” With a style fueled by an eclectic genre mix, influences included Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Sly, and the Family Stone, Teddy Pendergrass, and Kanye West. His unique sound smoothly blends aspects from blues, soul, jazz, rock, and more, creating an immersive experience at once both upbeat and up-close-and-personal — a captivating world spreading a message of love and unity, harmoniously uniting people through music.

 

Joe’s 2017 debut album, Butterflies, Rainbows & Moonbeams, was followed in rapid succession by Electric Soul (2019), produced by the legendary Narada Michael Walden, Sincerely (2020), R & B(eats) (2020), and most recently, 2021’s The Kyber Tapes, an homage to his Star Wars Obsession.

 

A passion for engineering led Barksdale to the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program at age 13. When that didn’t work out, football was one of the few summer activity options available. All-American honors as a Cass Technical High School lineman led to scholarship offers, and acceptance of Louisiana State University’s offer, enhanced by its engineering program. After starting on LSU’s 2008 NCAA championship team, he played with the Raiders, Rams, Chargers, and Cardinals. Concluding an 8-year NFL run, Barksdale hung up his cleats in 2019 to pursue music full-time, settling in Austin, Texas with his wife Brionna and two young daughters. Depression, long-undiagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder, and a childhood peppered with abuse, rejection, and neglect fed a strong inner critic clamoring to divert Barksdale from his goals. In his youth, football and music lessons fostered resilience, while therapy as an adult re-channeled his energies to focus on excellence. After the passing of Cass coach and mentor Charleston Fobbs in 2013, Rams coach Jeff Fisher encouraged rekindling his love for music as a creative outlet to cope with grief. Music became a voice previously missing from his life, with professional instruction fine-tuning his multiple gifts. Concurrently, he fosters awareness to tackle the stigma surrounding mental illness — including publicly sharing his own experience of 20+ years of silently suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts — to encourage others to seek help.

Focused, driven, and competitive in all pursuits, Barksdale is committed to emerging as his generation’s premier guitar player, eyeing Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Refusing constraint to a single creative outlet, he’s an avid journaler and poet, and relishes his role as Tech Lord of the Sith, producing quick, irreverent product review videos. Simultaneously enamored with comedy — citing Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, and Patrice O’Neal as primary influences — he includes the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor among future ambitious goals. A dedicated artisan defying singular categorization, Barksdale is confidently making his mark across a far-reaching creative galaxy, forcefully checking multiple boxes along his journey.

 

Animal addict, self-starter, espresso shot lover, entrepreneur, and relocation specialist. Brionna Barksdale likes to say she’s in the sweet spot between productivity and creativity, and she uses those attributes to help craft solutions and experiences both virtually and in real life. As a wife and mother of four, two daughters, and two Dobermans Pinschers @aria_and_anikan - Brionna is the CEO/founder of Top-Tier Event Group. Brionna’s latest association is joining The Pet Summit team as Operations Director. Although Brionna may not be a social media influencer, she inspires people every day by being authentic with everyone she encounters.

 

Reach out to Joe and Bri at TheDavidBrand.com or via Instagram.

 

 

Remarkable Quotes

 

Joe Barksdale:

 

“Football was the first time I was around adults that were happy to see me. I fell in love with being good. I fell in love with being the best at what I do. It was the competitive in me that allowed me to be good. Being on the football field gave me a purpose and that I deserved to be on the planet. I wasn’t just taking, I was giving.”

 

“I was never passionate about football. I was passionate about being good at the game. The reason why I wanted to be good is for the accolades because I wanted a reason to prove that I was meant to be alive.”

 

“I know that the best 'ME' that I can be will be the best 'ME' for my family.”

 

Bri Barksdale:

 

“You can either be stuck in traffic or the reason for the traffic jam. So you gotta be thankful that you're just stuck in traffic.”

 

“It's one thing to pivot. It's another thing to pivot when your plan doesn't go seamlessly and there's a lot of pivoting that goes on.”

 

“I wrote down the words because I’m more of a lyrics person. He [Joe Barksdale] is more of the music person.”

 

 

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Contact Shutterstock at [email protected] and take the field with Shutterstock’s award-winning photography superstars.

 

 

 

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