John Smith · Berlin

In the organizer's words:

John was born in Essex, grew up on the Devon coast and made a name for himself in the bars and clubs of Liverpool. He has released six studio albums with over 100 million Spotify streams, played to audiences around the world in living rooms, festival tents and sold-out concert halls. In his eighteen years as a full-time independent touring musician, he has barely paused for breath.

Smith is deeply rooted in the tradition of British folk and American guitar music, drawing inspiration from Richard Thompson, John Martyn and Ry Cooder. He has developed a transatlantic blend of fingerstyle and slide guitar techniques. His deeply romantic and vibrant songwriting, combined with his innovative guitar work, has earned him a loyal following. His honeyed voice and mesmerizing fingerstyle guitar are undeniable. Sometimes with a slide, sometimes with the guitar on his lap, sometimes detuning mid-song or pulling subtle expressions out of an array of effects pedals, Smith's passion for the instrument has made him a master. Whether as an album or a live show, he always takes the listener on a deeply emotional journey.

His career began with folk greats such as John Martyn, Davy Graham and John Renbourn, who described him as "the future of folk music". Since then, he has opened for Iron and Wine, Patty Griffin and Ben Howard and made guest appearances with artists such as Jackson Browne, Martin Carthy, Roseanne Cash, Gomez, Richard Hawley, Jarvis Cocker, Jerry Douglas, Glen Hansard and Rodney Crowell. In his occasional role as sideman, he has played guitar for artists as diverse as David Gray, Lisa Hannigan, Lianne La Havas, Joe Henry and Joan Baez.

He has released six records of his own songs. "Headlong" (2017) reached #15 on the Indie Breakers chart, #1 on iTunes' Singer-Songwriter chart and his catalog has amassed over 100 million Spotify streams. There are also a variety of live albums, instrumental EPs and covers records that John often makes available directly to his loyal fan base of die-hard music fans.

Now he is back with his new album "The Living Kind", which will be released in March 2024 on his own label Commoner Records via Thirty Tigers.

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