Stone Harbor Makes, Nashville Takes: Holdyn Barder Could Be Following in Taylor Swift’s Footsteps
Close-up during video shoot on the beach at 120th Street.
OK, so Chicago has a Broadway musical named after it. And, of course, Ol’ Blue Eyes sang the praises of New York, New York. But now — finally — Stone Harbor has taken its rightful place among great American towns immortalized in song. Thanks to Holdyn Barder.
Born in Houston, Barder grew up in Bucks County, spent his summers in Stone Harbor, and currently makes his home in Nashville, Tenn., where he’s on the road to a successful career as a country-music artist. Ah, but Stone Harbor keeps calling him back.
“I’ve always wanted to write a song about the town — a song that really describes me and who I was, my hometown and what I loved, but I never really knew how to do it,” says Barder. “What it would look like, what it would feel like? Do I make it this really soft ballad that has to do with sand and the tide and breaking up with somebody or something really sad, or do I make this a kick-[butt] rock kind of song?”
What Barder settled on was a song chock-full of his favorite summertime places, like Springer’s, Hoy’s 5&10, and the Windrift, and familiar faces, like Sue and Rick Montanari, owners of the Fishin’ Pier Grille, where Barder bussed tables as a teenager. All these memories are set to a laid-back country melody and featured in a music video, filmed on location in Avalon, Stone Harbor and Wildwood.
Barder, who turned 24 in July, wrote the song with a gal named Taylor … but probably not the one you’re thinking of. He penned it with his good friend Taylor Teasley, but Barder hopes the tune may catch the ear of famous Stone Harbor summer denizen Taylor Swift, who was known to take the stage at Coffee Talk on 97th Street and Henny’s during her teen years.
“I haven’t met Taylor, but I’m hoping the song might cause that to happen,” Barder says enthusiastically. “If Taylor hears this song, I would be extremely happy and grateful and I think she would love it.”
Besides sharing Stone Harbor “roots” with the superstar, Barder also spent some time at Big Machine Records, where Swift signed her first recording contract and where Barder worked as an intern while attending Nashville’s Belmont University. “It was just a wonderful opportunity, walking into that label every day, and [knowing] Taylor Swift was here.”
So, how did a guy from Bucks County who summered at the Jersey Shore come to love country music? According to Barder, it all started with a paper clip.
“One day I was playing tennis in high school, and next to my tennis bag was a blue, guitar-shaped paper clip. You don’t really expect to find that on a tennis court and I thought maybe I should take that as a sign to start playing guitar.” And so he did.
While enrolled in Lafayette College as a physics major in 2018, Barder took guitar lessons from Tom Kozic, who had been country singer Eddie Rabbitt’s lead guitarist in the early 1980s. “Tom’s such a great guy,” says Barder, “and we’re still friends.”
Kozic had this advice for young Barder: “I’ll be the one to tell you, you need to be in Nashville, you really need to go down there and chase your dream and do what you gotta do.”
“Tom was the main person who lit that fire inside me, and I would go to this little venue called One Center Square in Easton [where] all these up-and-coming country acts were performing. I remember going to Dylan Schneider’s show and I was like, ‘Whoa, I want to do that. I want to be like that guy.’ ”
Soon, Barder started writing songs and making trips to Nashville while still enrolled at Lafayette. During his sophomore year, he visited Belmont and decided to transfer.
“Half of Nashville went to Belmont and it was really cool to be surrounded by other individuals who were just as passionate,” says Barder, who graduated from the university with a minor in audio production and a major in music business from the university’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business.
Asked to recall a highlight or favorite moment from his recent video shoot, Barder shared this scene: “I grew up on 98th and the bay, and there’s this little bulkhead at the end of 98th Street. It was totally dead and then we start singing and filming at sunset. I had my mom and my best friends there, and then all these people showed up out of nowhere and they all flooded down and piled up in this mosh pit! I’m like, ‘Where did these people come from?’
“They were all singing it, they learned it real quick! It was so magical and perfect; I just teared up at the end. I knew then if those people loved that song, then the whole town is going to love it, everybody’s going to love it. And even if people haven’t ever been to Stone Harbor, I think we all have that place in our hearts that we really identify and love, and I think they may have a place they can relate to that’s their Stone Harbor.”
After touching down in Stone Harbor in June to shoot his music video, Barder will be back in his favorite shore town later this summer to kick back on vacation.
“I need my beach time,” he says with a laugh. “The only problem with Nashville — I love it down there — but there’s no beach!”
Editor’s note: You can check out “Stone Harbor” and all of Barder’s songs and music videos at holdynbarder.com.
“There’s a lot of things in life I love
But not as much
As Stone Harbor
Where you just kick it back in the water
I think you oughta
Visit my beach town alma mater”
— From Holdyn Barder’s “Stone Harbor”
SHE PLAYED BARDER’S GIRLFRIEND IN ‘STONE HARBOR’ VIDEO
Holdyn Barder was looking for some genuine Stone Harbor talent to play opposite him in his Stone Harbor music video, so he posted a casting call on Facebook and Molly Burke landed the gig. Born and raised in the Garden State, Burke is pure Jersey girl and, like Barder, grew up spending her summers in Stone Harbor.
“She had this energy about her and she fit the character,” Barder says.
Now, you might think that Burke is an aspiring actress with her sights set on Hollywood. But you’d be wrong. She’s a 2021 Villanova grad who majored in marketing and works in the banking industry in New York.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she says, “but I thought it would be fun, a cool and different opportunity. So, I just took a chance and applied.”
Burke plays the part of Barder’s girlfriend in flashback sequences as Barder looks back on his Stone Harbor summers. They filmed scenes walking along the beach, riding bikes and shopping in town, hanging out on the Wildwood boardwalk, and on his boat with some friends: “It was definitely cool to get on a boat and see the town from the bay,” she says.
Burke says her favorite part of the experience was “getting to meet different people that were a part of Holdyn’s life; everyone was super nice.” She credits music-video director Ben Oakes with making her feel comfortable and relaxed even though she had never acted: “It didn’t really matter that I hadn’t done it before, it just felt natural.”
Burke describes the song “Stone Harbor” as “awesome” and suggests that social media, like Stone Harbor Facebook groups, will make folks aware of it and drive its popularity, adding, “I think a lot of people will like it.” And speaking of Stone Harbor, what are some of her favorite spots? “The Windrift is definitely a favorite — my parents grew up going there,” says Burke, “and Hoy’s, I used to go there all the time with my cousins when we were little.”
Asked if appearing in this video has inspired her to reconsider a career in entertainment, Burke ponders for a moment and replies: “It’s always been an interest of mine — production and film, but I don’t know if I could make a career out of it. If another opportunity presents itself, I’d be happy to do it!”