Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes — Big Chief of the Northside Skull and Bone Gang (one the oldest Afro-Creole carnival groups in the US, since 1819) — is a New Orleans musician, book author, ethnographic photographer and band leader of the popular New Orleans musical group Sunpie Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots. Sunpie has traveled to 53 countries playing his “Afro-Louisiana music” incorporating blues, zydeco, creole jazz, gospel, work songs, Caribbean and African influenced rhythms and melodies.

Sunpie, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist — mastering accordion, harmonica, and piano along with rubboard, talking drum, and djembe — learned accordion from some of the best Louisiana Zydeco pioneers including Fernest Arceneaux, John Delafose, and Clayton Sampy. Overall, Sunpie has recorded 7 critically acclaimed CDs, with his compositions featured in 22 Hollywood film productions.

A former NFL football player (Kansas City Chiefs) and college football All-American, Sunpie has also been at turns a National Park Service Ranger photographer and high school biology teacher (30 years). He’s a 20-year member of the Black Men of Labor Social Aid and Pleasure Club and he’s most recently co-authored a book and CD project entitled Le Kèr Creole (The Creole Heart). Sunpie was a member of the Paul Simon Band which embarked on the 58-city world tour “Paul Simon and Sting Together” which spanned 39 countries (2014-16) and, in 2018, performed with Latin Super Star Carlos Vives at the 51st annual Vallenato Festival in Valledupar, Columbia. Film acting has been an important part of his busy career, as well, and Sunpie’s work has appeared in Hollywood productions Point of No Return, Deja Vu, Under Cover Blues, Jonah Hex, Treme, and The Big Easy, among numerous others. Deeply involved in New Orleans parade culture, Sunpie co-authored the 2015 critically acclaimed book Talk That Music Talk: Passing On Brass Band Music In New Orleans The Traditional Way.