Ryann Barnes is ready to explore a new stage.

The second-year music industry student is slated to make her in-person Spring Sing debut after the competition’s cancelation and move to a virtual event due to the attack on and police sweep of the Palestine solidarity encampment last year. Barnes said she is excited to play with her current band unit for the first time and experiment with musical and performance elements, such as backing tracks and different vocal styles, at this year’s competition. Having never performed live in front of an audience of Spring Sing’s size, Barnes said she looks forward to engaging with her favorite part of singing at the resumed in-person event.

“I think it’s (Spring Sing is) just so different because … the online thing was literally just me and my friends singing at my dorm desk,” Barnes said. “I can actually perform, which is nice, because that’s one of my favorite things ever – being able to perform my music for people.”

Barnes said she carried an early interest and passion for music. Starting piano lessons at six years old, she added that she later became involved in musical theater as she enjoyed singing and performing. Barnes said she began writing songs in a diary but did not take the practice seriously until she was gifted an acoustic guitar by her grandfather for her seventh birthday. From there, she said her learning guitar was paired with writing songs. She was further motivated by her father encouraging her to create her own songs rather than singing covers of others’ music, she added.

Barnes’ passion for music deepened when she joined a jazz band in high school and met her friend and current band member Summer Roman, she said. Inspired by his creating and releasing of music, she added that she learned to co-write songs with him as well as how to work and write with musicians more broadly. Barnes added that her dream was always to live in Los Angeles to further her music and continue meeting other musical creatives.

Sofie Foster is one creative Barnes connected with in her time at UCLA. Foster, a second-year music industry student, said the two met through close proximity in the same major but grew closer when Barnes asked Foster to sing backup vocals in the band in February. Together, Foster said, she and Barnes write songs and add harmonic layers to them. Working with Barnes is energetic, Foster added, especially when they bounce songwriting ideas off each other and share cheerful moments after hitting harmonies.

“I love hearing Ryann talk about all of the musical visions that she has. She’s super, super creative, and performing with her is such a joy,” Foster said. “Sometimes we’ll make eye contact when we’re about to sing together, hit a certain harmony, and we just kind of smile. It’s really, really fun.”

In her music, Barnes said she follows an experimental pop sound. She added that the lyrical metaphors and sonic stylings of Imogen Heap, The Japanese House and Dora Jar are among her musical influences. When it comes to songwriting, Barnes said she draws inspiration from all experiences and moments in life, adding that she once wrote a song from seeing a billboard that read, “Look for the good in people.” Visual media also sparks her creativity in her artistic approach, she added, including “Alice in Wonderland,” director Wes Anderson’s film style and black-and-white photography.

Amid Barnes’s growing success are hurdles she said she is continuing to overcome. She said she overthinks her uniqueness in music and is challenged in trying to separate herself from the larger industry. In songwriting, Barnes added that she experiences writer’s block and moments when her ideas do not translate into her lyrics. In such moments, she said she remains encouraged by her tattoo, which reads “good things happen to those who wait” – a phrase repeated to her by her father and placed on her right arm to see as she plays the guitar.

Despite artistic obstacles, Cristy Barnes, Ryann’s mother, said her daughter is fearless and passionate about her music. Cristy said Ryann is undeterred by the large number of songs released daily and remains patient in the slow build of her musical journey. The way Ryann puts on lively performances and crafts personal and emotional songs are elements of her musicianship Cristy added that she admires.

“She’s never been afraid to put herself out there, which I’ve always really admired,” Cristy Barnes said. “She really had no qualms about really sharing what she was, what she had written and things that are very personal to her. She’s always been willing to kind of put it out there and not worry about what others think.”

Beyond her Spring Sing performance, Ryann Barnes said she is eager to continue playing and singing in front of more audiences. She added that she is currently working on an EP and has been collaborating with different musicians on the project. She hopes that listeners can connect with her music and appreciate her authenticity, she said.

For aspiring musicians, Barnes said she encourages them to believe in their work and their identities as artists. Music does not always have to be intense, she added, and anyone is capable of writing songs and creating music. Being authentic and vulnerable in her music inspires others to do the same, she said.

“I just love making music, and I love writing songs, and I love singing, and I love performing. So being able to be again – that version of myself for people – I just hope that there’s an energy between everyone that makes everyone feel like that,” Barnes said. “If other people are being their truest self, you naturally will become yours.”