ABOUT THE ARTIST
Johnny Blueheart’s music is where the honky tonk meets the circus tent. It’s a place where the nostalgia of old school country gets its wires crossed with the American dystopia we’re all living in. In Johnny’s forthcoming EP, Heroes of Circumstance, coyotes howl across the desert plains while cello and circus organs whine and growl in return. Once a mainstay of the Northern New Mexico music scene (The Taos Inn, The Chili Line Depot, Mineshaft Tavern), Johnny is now based in Fort Collins, Colorado where he touches the blue hearts of cowboys and clowns alike, recently headlining a few shows at Boulder’s famed Gold Hill Inn.
Raised the descendant of four Holocaust survivors and born Matthew Beals, Johnny sang in punk bands and barbershop choruses while growing up in the melting pot of New York. His early project, ISOMER, saw him performing avante garde vocal compositions around New York City (CBGBs Basement, Pianos) and releasing three full length albums. A lover of sound design, he was also the live foley artist for the theater troupe The Interstellar Radio Company where he cracked celery and slung toilet plungers across the country as the opening act for folk rock sensation The Magnetic Fields. As a filmmaker and cinematographer, he wrote, directed and shot the award winning feature film The Marshmallow Mystery Tour, now available on Amazon Prime.
During a soul searching trip out west, he found himself living in the off-grid community of Slab City in Southern California for a few months, then working as a Horse Wrangler in Texas for a stint and ultimately becoming the Night Manager at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico. It was there at the edge of civilization that the name Johnny Blueheart was born. “I wanted a name that could evoke an American crooner like Dean Martin or Bobby Vinton but that could give me room to breathe into different genres while always feeling American and classic. I aspire to evoke the blue heart of America, fitting on stage at a dusty dive bar on Friday and a glitzy jazz club on Saturday."
In Johnny’s upcoming release, Heroes of Circumstance, his signature baritone voice sings of longing, hope, hardship and resiliency. Self-producing the album with a cadre of musicians on pedal steel, upright bass, baritone guitar, cello and percussion, the six songs are a cinematic journey that spans the genres of outlaw country, gothic rock, tribal folk and circus music.
Raised the descendant of four Holocaust survivors and born Matthew Beals, Johnny sang in punk bands and barbershop choruses while growing up in the melting pot of New York. His early project, ISOMER, saw him performing avante garde vocal compositions around New York City (CBGBs Basement, Pianos) and releasing three full length albums. A lover of sound design, he was also the live foley artist for the theater troupe The Interstellar Radio Company where he cracked celery and slung toilet plungers across the country as the opening act for folk rock sensation The Magnetic Fields. As a filmmaker and cinematographer, he wrote, directed and shot the award winning feature film The Marshmallow Mystery Tour, now available on Amazon Prime.
During a soul searching trip out west, he found himself living in the off-grid community of Slab City in Southern California for a few months, then working as a Horse Wrangler in Texas for a stint and ultimately becoming the Night Manager at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico. It was there at the edge of civilization that the name Johnny Blueheart was born. “I wanted a name that could evoke an American crooner like Dean Martin or Bobby Vinton but that could give me room to breathe into different genres while always feeling American and classic. I aspire to evoke the blue heart of America, fitting on stage at a dusty dive bar on Friday and a glitzy jazz club on Saturday."
In Johnny’s upcoming release, Heroes of Circumstance, his signature baritone voice sings of longing, hope, hardship and resiliency. Self-producing the album with a cadre of musicians on pedal steel, upright bass, baritone guitar, cello and percussion, the six songs are a cinematic journey that spans the genres of outlaw country, gothic rock, tribal folk and circus music.
Taos Tempo News - June 4th, 2020