Nedra Johnson

Nedra Johnson is a singer/songwriter multi-instrumentalist born & living in New York City. Her unique style of guitar playing is unmistakably informed by her many years as a professional bassist and keeps her live solo acoustic performances more on an R&B tip then what one might expect of a "girl with a guitar."

Nedra's self-titled sophomore release is a 2006 OUTMUSIC Award (OUTSTANDING NEW RECORDING - FEMALE) winning, joyful mix of R&B, funk, rock and gospel. Honest in integrity to the music as well as the lyrical content, each song is a testimony of her experience as a black openly lesbian woman in love, spirituality, community and or politics. From the first song "Ahha (It's A Good Thing)" on through to the Maxine Feldman tribute version of "Amazon," this is proudly womyn's music and a great example of how Nedra has grown as a writer, arranger, producer and musician. Featuring lush background vocals and danceable grooves, Nedra makes the personal political and the erotic downright spiritual.

Nedra has performed internationally at jazz, blues, pride & women's music festivals as a solo artist and a tuba player/vocalist with her father Howard Johnson & his group, Gravity. She surprised and impressed jazz audiences in Paris, Nime, Berlin, Vienna, Kassel, Macedonia, Muchen, Leverkusen, Los Angeles, New York & New Orleans when she put down her tuba and sang original songs with Gravity garnering such praises as from The Orange County Register, "A little thing [an original from the CD Testify ] called Working Hard for the Joneses had the crowd on its feet and whooping." As a soloist, she has performed in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Oakland, Cleveland, Madison, Chicago, New Caledonia and more!

Whether in front of an intimate audience such as at New York City's Rockwood Music Hall or a large festival audience of 7000 like Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, Nedra has the ability to perform with both a strength and a vulnerability that makes each listener feel like they are getting to know her on a personal level. Her thoughtful choice of words reflect not only who she is, but speak to the heart in a way that mirrors emotions many find difficult to express, allowing her a fan base diverse in ethnic, cultural and spiritual background.