Growing up in Ajax, Ontario, Kris Barclay got his first guitar for Christmas when he was thirteen years old and would sing along to his favourite country songs when nobody was around. Fast forward – Kris has opened shows for Brett Kissel, The Washboard Union, The Road Hammers, Gord Bamford and Dean Brody. In 2019, Kris was nominated in the Rising Star category for the Country Music Awards of Ontario.
At the 2018 Boots and Hearts Music Festival, Kris was voted by fans as the wildcard entry into the Emerging Artist Showcase, allowing him to compete against six other artists in front of a jury of country music artists and industry execs. Kris went on to become the first ever wildcard artist to win the showcase, earning him a spot on the mainstage to close the weekend¹s festival, and a trip to Nashville to write with some of country music¹s top songwriters. Also, part of the win was a recording deal with Warner Music Canada, which saw the release of his debut single “Loved You Like That” which has garnered over 1.5 million streams to date.
The new single from Kris is called “More Than Whiskey” written by Meghan Patrick, Aaron Goodvin & Skip Black. Kris recently opened up a few shows for Meghan.