Fredericksburg Songwriters' Showcase Jean Bayou

Jon Bachman


Jean Bayou is a well-known and well-loved member of the DC area songwriting community. From the ridiculous to the sublime, her song titles give fair warning of the ride ahead: Knocking on a Deaf Man's Door, Mammogram, Torture (The Cynic's Vacation), and Your Karma Suits Ya reflect topics Jean writes about with humor, wisdom, and poignancy.  She is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist (piano and guitar), with a diverse and international musical background.

Jean often uses unusual, and sometimes haunting, guitar tunings and progressions.  Her lyrics grab you with observations of comedy and tragedy, and her hummable melodies remain in listeners’ heads long after they've gone home.

Originally from the Hudson Valley in New York State, some of Jean’s early musical influences were semi-locals such as Bob Dylan, The Band, and NRBQ.  She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Arizona in the late 70s, then lived in Benghazi, Libya, and knows that culture well.  She often says that she missed the 80s and 90s, when she was busy raising Amina, Ali, and Aziza, who have all made it successfully to adulthood. 

    Jean is in her seventh year as President of the Songwriters' Association of Washington, an organization she holds dear for all of the aspiring, inspiring, talented, hard-working, generous, and amazing people she has had the pleasure to associate with.  Her leadership was recognized when she twice received the WAMMIE award for Executive of the Year given by the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA).
 
Jean’s 2010 WAMMIE-nominated debut CD, Just About Everything, has received rave reviews, and she has graced the stage at the Washington Folk Festival, the Bluemont Fair, the Takoma Park Folk Festival, the Athenaeum in Alexandria, the Reston-Herndon Folk Club, and the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), among others.  Jean also plays regularly at various SAW Showcases and sometimes accompanies other songwriters on piano.  She’s currently recording a new vocal CD, and has another featuring her piano compositions on the horizon.

The inimitable Ron Goad, who was born in an elevator in Front Royal, Virginia, will be accompanying Jean Bayou. Ron has been chosen by the members of the Washington Area Music Association as "Most Supportive of Washington Music" for several years in a row, and has befriended, helped, accompanied and put more DC-area songwriters on stage than you can shake a stick at! He is Vice-President of the Songwriters' Association of Washington and an active supporter of several other music organizations in the area.
 

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