Northwest Soirèe | Dave Barnes

Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 6:00 pm / 8:30 pm

The Northwest Soiree is the College's premier fundraising and community recognition event. The formal, ticketed event will highlight a performance by Dave Barnes and will also honor community award recipients who have contributed to the legacy of excellence at Northwest.

Although born in South Carolina, singer/songwriter Dave Barnes spent most of his childhood in Mississippi where he formed an early attachment to hip-hop but was also exposed to classic soul, blues, and R&B by his parents. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in recording industry management, he decided to pursue his own music and moved to Nashville, gravitating toward the city's acoustic folk scene, but the desire to make more groove-oriented music convinced him to assemble a full band. Dave has had over 100 songs recorded by other artists, such as Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Dan + Shay, Carrie Underwood, and countless more. He landed two #1s with "God Gave Me You," recorded by Blake Shelton and earning Barnes a Grammy nomination, and "Craving You," recorded by Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris. His past collaborations include artists Lindsey Stirling, Ingrid Michaelson, and Ben Rector, just to name a few.