Barney Cortez

Barney Cortez is a songwriter/producer hailing from Philadelphia. Along with Nick Bockrath (Cage The Elephant), he founded the band Nicos Gun and was their main singer/songwriter. 2018 found him breaking off to make his own EP "Pretty Thin", which introduced his unique brand of pop/rock sensibilities. After a steady release of four EP's, a tour of Europe and a string of singles, he released his debut album "Hullabaloo" on La Reserve Records in 2022. The song "Shit River" with Rayland Baxter made its way onto Spotify's "Fresh Folk" playlist amongst others. 2025 found him gearing up for the release of his second LP "Earth Station", which was mixed by Jeff Lucci of Mo Lowda & the Humble. His most cohesive work to date, "Earth Station" shines a light on Cortez' clever mix of psych rock, sonic experimentation and heartfelt, honest storytelling. Cortez has been featured on outlets such as NPR, Earmilk and No Depression.