Like many great projects, Missoula Sings began with a few friends in a basement.
HOW'D THIS START?
Hey, I'm Barron
In 2024, I was going through a big transition and wanted to create more connection, aliveness, and belonging in my life. I started gathering people in my basement to sing. What started off as a few friends grew, and grew, and became what is now a 550+ person community of people, most of whom arrived "not a singer," and we call it Missoula Sings.
Whether I’m designing homes, training song-leaders, or guiding people through inner transformation, my work is always about this: building belonging.
As an architect, I know how our built environment subtly shapes our lives and relationships. But how we live cannot single-handedly heal the disconnection so many of us carry inside. Freedom requires inner liberation. My work aims to bridge the inner and outer worlds by helping people heal the internal looping patterns that block aliveness, and create the external conditions where connection and purpose can thrive. I am an:
Award-winning & published architect
Two-time TEDx Speaker
Founder of Architecture of Belonging
Founder of Missoula Sings
BodyMind Maturation coach
International Song-Leader & Trainer
"Creating communities full of song and genuine connection is what drives me forward."
missoula sings helped me move through the horror I feel about the future for all of us and especially for my children. It's more meaningful to me than I can express. - julia
things have grown. we are well held
Meet the Leadership Team
Missoula Sings started off as a solo project, but has transformed into a far more beautiful. This community project is held by a team of remarkable human beings (from left to right, Joe, Kristina, Barron, Julia & Patrick) that I have the privilege of calling my friends and co-conspirators.
Together we aim to create meaningful multi-generational, accessible gatherings for people to come home to their voices and to be reminded of what community can feel like.
Barron's Backstory &
How Missoula Sings Was Born
MY STORY
I went most of my life not singing.
I didn't grow up in a family that sang, but one of my first singing memories was being 10 years old, riding in the backseat of my best friend's car. His mom was driving. It was nighttime, and we were heading back to their house. His little sister was next to me, and I was looking out the window, quietly singing Kelly Rowland's part of Nelly's "Dilemma."
No matter what I do, all I think about is you, even when I'm with my boo. Boy, you know I'm crazy over you.
Abruptly, his sister burst out laughing. "He sings like a girl."
I kept looking out the window. I don't remember if anyone said anything. But I can still feel the way my stomach dropped.
I didn't sing again for nearly 15 years.
The moment everything changed.
In 2018, I was invited to a song circle. I didn't really know what it was — I assumed it was some kind of performance. Then the man leading the event announced that everybody would be singing. I braced myself. But then he said something I had never heard in my entire life:
"We're not interested in being good here. We're interested in being connected."
The following two hours were a blend of excruciating self-consciousness and an exquisite aliveness I hadn't experienced before.
I left knowing I had to learn more from this man. His name is Aaron Johnson, and he became one of my most formative teachers, mentors, and friends.
Singing anywhere there are people.
Several months later, I had completed a facilitator training, completely unrelated to singing, with Aaron. But over the 6 months, Aaron opened every single session with song.
No announcement or explination. You'd join the Zoom call and he'd already be singing. And so, I started doing the same while facilitating groups. Just singing, and inviting people in.
Through Aaron, I met Ahlay Blakely, and was lucky enough to spend an evening with her on her birthday with a small group of friends.
Every other person there carried songs and led them. Over several hours, we sang while a fire we built using a wooden bowline, and we watched the sunset. That first night, I learned some of my favorite songs that I still sing today.
I had no idea such a thing existed — that people could teach songs on the fly, without sheet music, and that anyone could join in. My self-consciousness was dissolving before my eyes. I was being magnetized by something called song circle.
Montana. A fresh start. And an experiment.
A few weeks later, I left Washington and moved to Montana.
The years that followed were big ones. I tore apart and remodeled a house. I started an architecture business. I got married, and then not long after, I got divorced.
By the beginning of 2024, I needed a shift in my life. I knew how much singing made me feel alive, so I started gathering people to sing in my basement. People told me it was meaningful and I loved doing it.
So I made myself a quiet promise: Let me just try this for a year. Two song circles a month. Call it Missoula Sings. See what happens.
A year later, we had a community of 300 people.
A year after that, 550 and growing.
From one person's project to something much larger.
In November of 2025, I hosted our first Singing Spark song-leader training — an overnight retreat with 25 people.
The event was a success in many ways, but the most profound thing that came out of it was unexpected: a core group of people who didn't just attend, but who stepped forward to hold Missoula Sings as their own.
Missoula Sings is no longer just my singing project, but has grown to be something larger, held by a team of passionate friends, and in many ways, it belongs to all of us.
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What We Do
We meet regularly to learn simple songs by ear and sing them together — no sheet music, no performance. Just people, voices, and connection. It's about dropping in, having fun, and getting free.
AGREEMENTS:
Come As You Are — You do not need to prepare anything, perform, or be "good." Just come, and be yourself.
Participation Over Performance — This isn’t a show. We make it together. Join in however you’d like—sing, hum, tap, or listen.
Meet Your Edge — Song may seem cute, but you will feel stretched—being seen, using your voice, and feeling deeply.
Hold Each Other Well — Your not the only one taking a risk. Bring warmth, generosity, and respect towards others.
Meet Yourself Kindly — Be gentle with what arises (singers are prone to tears, ecstasy, and a spontaneous sense of belonging)
Take Care of Yourself — Be responsible for your own needs. Take breaks, adapt, & participate at whatever level feels good.
Carry It Forward — We teach songs so that you can take them into your everyday life. No instruments required.
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LEGAL
Missoula Sings is a DBA of The Resonance School LLC