Gifted, witty and wry; a ‘songwriter’s songwriter”. His albums ‘Can You Fly’ and ‘This Perfect World’ were on many ‘best albums of the year’ lists, with wildly enthusiastic reviews by the New York Times, Spin, Billboard & Musician mags. Says New York Magazine “Johnston’s gift is that he can distill hurt, desire, and all the complicated shadows in between into an electric guitar tone and a couple of vivid phrases. He’s one of the great American storytellers.” Rolling Stone named Freedy their “Songwriter of the Year”. Ten plus studio albums in to his career, he remains dedicated to his craft; creating the song. He was recently drawn to and inspired by the wide open skies of the Mojave in Joshua Tree, where he writes and records daily in his desert hideaway. Freedy’s first post-pandemic show was at the JTMF spring concert series in May, opening for Con Brio. In April, after the Steve Poltz show here in Joshua Tree, Freedy, Steve, Tom Freund and Wally Ingram struck up an inspiring musical conversation. They took turns sharing songs, much to the delight of the dozen or so folks present. We were rapt. The BaHOOTenzie idea was cemented there and then.
Says Steve: “I’ve been a fan of Freedy Johnston’s since I was in The Rugburns. He’s one of my favorite singer songwriters and he’s still doing it. He also a great hang and an all around good human being. I can’t believe he’s actually going to play BaHOOTenzie!”
Website: http://www.freedyjohnston.com/
