Johnny Duke

In music and in life, Duke exudes a sense of clarity, presence, and humble wisdom. His deeply introspective 2022 solo release, Sonic Valley, is both dreamy and spirited, with elements of folk, rock, jazz, blues, psychedelia, electronica, and trance that culminate in an astonishing clarity of tone and message. Pollinating songs with a mix of cultural and stylistic influences, he’s described his creative intention as tapping into multiple levels of consciousness and “clothing a mystical experience in music.” On “Galaxy Love,” the opening track, he sings, “Time and space fall away/into sand, into clay/and all the while, I’m lost in love.” An infectious groove topped with cool jazz licks forms the essence of “Get Away,” while “New Moon” zooms in on his guitar virtuosity. “Galaxy Love,” “Children of Light,” and “Calling Out for Love,” center the album, blending layers of sound into a lush and poignant unity. In terms of performance, Duke showcases the full breadth of his talent, featuring acoustic, electric, slide, and fingerstyle elements, which he melds with touches of organ, pedal steel, banjo, mandolin, accordion, electronica, percussion, and his own warm, welcoming vocals. An epic mystical and sonic journey, this self-produced album gradually builds into an ecstatic experience of musical and spiritual realization.

Johnny Duke was born in Knoxville and spent the latter part of his childhood going back and forth between his father’s house in rural Mississippi and his mother’s in Wilmington, Delaware. After picking up his first guitar at the age of ten, he was soon sitting in with local blues musicians, including Willie King and Terry “Harmonica” Bean, at festivals and small clubs around the Mississippi Delta. At age fourteen, Duke began sitting in with David Bromberg on a regular basis, a seminal relationship that significantly shaped him musically and personally. In 2006, D'Addario Strings awarded him a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, where he formed and toured with the band Johnny Duke and the Aces including a tour as B.B. King’s opening act when Duke was 18 years old. Since graduating in 2009, he’s backed a long list of musical legends, including Little Big Town, B.B. King, Keb’ Mo’, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ashley Monroe, Lee Ann Womack, Vince Gill, Jimmy Buffett, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Don Was, Maren Morris and more.  Duke recorded electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, and pedal steel on two of Little Big Town’s platinum-selling albums, Tornado and Painkiller.  As a sideman, he’s toured worldwide, appearing at numerous renowned venues, including Madison Square Garden, The Kennedy Center, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Red Rocks in CO, Wolf Trap, and The Ryman Auditorium, as well as on TV shows such as Ellen and Kelly Clarkson.  As a songwriter, Duke co-wrote Jimmy Buffett’s single Slow Lane from his 2020 album Life On The Flip Side.

Duke lives in Nashville, where he runs Spirit Radio Studios and lives with his wife and young son. Learn more at www.johnnydukemusic.com.