Bonds between parents and their children form in many ways, including watching their favorite TV shows together.
For 2023 Texas State University graduate DJ Bartly and his mother, Cheryl Bartly, it was American Idol. However, he didn’t know just how important the show was to her until he and his parents were on the set together last fall as he prepared to cover Khruangbin and Leon Bridges’ song “Texas Sun” in front of the famous panel of judges.
“American Idol helped my mom through postpartum depression,” said Bartly, who earned a BFA in Performance and Production. “When I was growing up in elementary school, we used to watch it a lot together. My mom never told me that before. I just learned that while we were on the American Idol set.”
The full-time musician, who goes by Bartly, grew up in a military family in Washington, D.C. He has always loved performing and picked up the guitar in second grade with early influences like The Temptations, James Brown, and Stevie Wonder, and later The Fray, Owl City, Pierce the Veil, and Black Veil Brides. He started “writing little songs” and eventually released music while in high school and college, but theatre was his focus. He applied to TXST because of its theatre program reputation and attended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were quarantined, and theatre was my degree,” he said. “There were things I needed to do outside of my degree. I love music, and one of my cathartic ways of venting out my feelings was by writing songs in my dorm.”
When COVID-19 restrictions were lifting, Bartly joined an open mic night at a venue in downtown San Marcos. The rooms were packed, he said, because people missed live music. He took on more gigs at Crafthouse and Industry then received a call to be a resident musician at IHG Corporate Resorts in Canyon Lake, which he did for more than eight months while also taking classes.
“Music is a real networking game,” he said. “If you are a decent talker like me, and you’re good around people, you’ll meet someone who gives you another gig, and you meet another person at that gig. The trajectory kind of goes like that.”
Even though he gained extensive stage acting experience through theatre classes with professors Kevin Gates, Ph.D., Laura Lane, and Neil Patrick Stewart, and met many lifelong friends through the program at TXST, Bartly switched his career path after graduation to music. He has since blended his interests of soul, folk, Americana, and indie music into his own style.
Before making the cut this year, Bartly had auditioned for American Idol and America’s Got Talent in the past. He went through several rounds of auditioning virtually through Zoom, but it didn’t work out. After coming just short in early 2025 of being able to audition in front of the panel of judges, he was contacted to request that he try again. It was then when he made it to the set to play in front of the judges in Fall 2025.
Ultimately, Bartly advanced to Hollywood Week in Music City in Nashville, Tennessee, where he played in front of an audience. He didn’t advance to the final 30 hopefuls for the next round, but he said it was a unique opportunity and a great platform to show the world his talent.
Along his music journey, Bartly said, he closely follows the meaning of one of his tattoos—a “222” tattoo—which symbolizes following a path and trusting the process. It’s something he recommends to any aspiring musician.
Bartly, who now lives in Kyle, spends most of his time in Austin and continues to play gigs throughout Central Texas. He releases new music regularly with aspirations to take his talent across the country in the future. He still sings “Man’s World” during his set because he remembers Joshua Ledet singing it on American Idol.
“If you show up, you just have to trust the process,” Bartly said. “If you like Americana music, look for Americana music around you and show up for those events. Talk to people. The most success I’ve had is from being in a place, showing up, and talking to people. Be a good hang and a decent person because being a good hang is really important in the music industry.”
Keep up with Bartly through his website for tour dates in Central Texas.
Credit: Source link