Johanna Wacker is a singer-songwriter and roots musician from Queens, NY, though much of her family comes from the mountains of Virginia. She’s been writing songs and teaching herself to play pretty much anything with strings since she was 11 years old. Banjo and guitar quickly became her preferred instruments. Johanna’s music incorporates traditional influences from Appalachian old-time, bluegrass, classic country, blues, and the American folk revival. She sets out to break musical barriers and genre stereotypes by being unapologetically herself:

“I’m openly gay. I’m sober.
I’m a proud New Yorker
with Appalachian heritage.
I carry my banjo on the subway
like a badge of honor.”

At Berklee College of Music in Boston, and Mountain Music School in Southwest Virginia, Johanna was immersed in traditional music, studying with genre icons like Bruce Molsky, Martha Spencer, Mark Simos, and Greg Liszt. She has learned hundreds of traditional songs along the way, and her own songwriting explores the unlikely similarities between the struggles of urban life and themes in Appalachian folk music—addiction, isolation, desperation, as well as a determination to remain hopeful, and persevere through everything life throws at you.

Johanna has been performing live since she was 12 years old, at venues such as the Bitter End, Jalopy Theatre, the Bowery Electric, and Mercury Lounge. She can also be found at jams, square dances, coffee houses, and music halls around New York, New England, Virginia, and Nashville. Her debut album, Garden Over Embers, has just been released, so she’s hitting the road and coming to a venue near you!