Although the Button Accordion was not Chris Barnes' first instrument, it has over the years attained the status of his primary instrument.

His first hands-on experience with a Button Box was in 1974 when his uncle loaned me his 2-row with a little explanation, and a tape recording he made of 6 short folk tunes. He took to it immediately, and has played for singing, dancing, and just listening ever since. After 4 years he graduated to a 3-row instrument, and in 2005 he moved to the 4-row Steirisch style instrument he plays today. His repertoire is heavy on Bavarian/Austrian, but he also plays some quantity of Scandinavian plus a smattering of other music genres.

Currently he’s the primary musician for a Bavarian folk dance group in Seattle (the Enzian Schuhplattler); and the musician member of Pat McMonagle’s Zwiefacher promoting and teaching team, ‘Immergrün-WA’ (since we’re from the ‘Evergreen State’; — also spelled Immergruen for those without an umlaut at their disposal). .