Jesse Bardwell’s dual passions for music and the outdoors are intrinsically linked, having fueled his existence for as long as he can remember. A multi-instrumentalist whose songwriting lends itself to traditional country, rock, bluegrass and Americana, Bardwell is equally at home on stage as he is spending the day solo fly-fishing on a lazy river.
“I am a product of both my environment and my art,” says Bardwell, a New Jersey native who lives in rural Pennsylvania, just steps away from the Delaware River at the foothills of the Pocono Mountains.
With an innate calling to music, he began his career in 2005 as cofounder of the Quimby Mountain Band. Still in his teens, Bardwell and the band gained regional acclaim playing from the mid-Atlantic to the Mississippi River in Delta juke joints, theatres, bars, dives and concert halls, and opening for well-established national acts such as Railroad Earth, Keller Williams, Marshall Tucker Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Foghat and many others.
A lifelong angler and outdoorsman, Bardwell has always found inspiration and solace in the natural world. And that’s where he retreated when COVID-19 derailed the live music scene. Bardwell’s 10-plus years as a touring musician came to a grinding halt and he was forced to take a hiatus.
“COVID slammed into me and knocked me off my feet,” says Bardwell. “I felt as if I’d lost my whole identity.”
Pre-pandemic, Bardwell kept up a brisk pace as a musician, gracing stages from Coast to Coast and across Europe. Most notably, he fronted his own successful outfit, Jesse Bardwell and the Free Union, comprised of rotating highly regarded players from the Americana music scene. With the band and as a solo artist, Bardwell toured with legendary artists such as Steve Forbert and opened for Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. In 2017 Bardwell released his first solo EP of original tunes, recorded in Nashville.
“When COVID hit and the music stopped, I started fishing about 60 hours a week,” says Bardwell. “My social media posts changed from pictures of me playing music to pictures of trout and shad.”
Reconnected to the outdoors, Bardwell eventually segued from making a living as a professional musician to working as a fly-fishing guide and sporting dog trainer at a prestigious members-only lodge. Along with a regional veteran’s association, he is also launching a fly-fishing program for veterans.
“I have a strong passion for getting people outdoors to experience the magic of nature and our connection to it,” says Bardwell.
While his latest endeavors have brought Bardwell much-needed joy, he soon realized he needed to have music back in his life. He picked up his guitar, which he hadn’t touched in over a year, and started writing songs again. As COVID-19 restrictions began to ease up, Bardwell also reconnected with the original members of the Quimby Mountain Band—brothers Harry Noble (guitarist) and Bob Noble(bassist). Along with Trevor Newcomb (drums), Jesse Bardwell and the Noble Brothers are back on the live music scene, delighting audiences with Bardwell’s original country-infused tunes and traditional bluegrass numbers.
But that doesn’t mean Bardwell is giving up his gig as a fishing guide or his other recent role as a volunteer firefighter. All of these adventures have served to fuel his soul and feed the well of artistic expression.
“I need to live in the service of others—whether helping them catch a fish, putting out a fire or writing a song they can relate to,” says Bardwell. “Sharing the therapeutic power of music just happens to be one of the best vehicles I have to do so.”