Originally from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, MIA JOHNSON has been in Philadelphia making music for over a decade-and-a-half. She got her start busking on South Street, then onto Philly venues, the recording studio, and independent tours of the East Coast and Midwest. Over the years she has performed as a solo act with just acoustic guitar, as frontman in a full rock band, as a backing vocalist in various projects and theatrically as June Carter in a Johnny Cash tribute act.
Mia’s songwriting reflects her interest and love for just about every style of music there is. The sound is rhythmically varied, rich in melody and very-chill-to-really-rockin’ with it’s strongest influences rooted in folk, blues, reggae and of course, rock n’ roll. Currently she performs her original music with accompaniment from her rock band under the name THE JAWNSONS. The dynamic outfit which features Michael Caughlin on lead guitar and Charlie Heim on drums can often be found in some of Philadelphia’s premier live music rooms such as The Tin Angel, World Cafe Live and The Legendary Dobbs. This fantastic combination of musicians will be heard on Mia’s upcoming 2013 sampler release.
In addition to her work with her own original music, Mia has contributed vocals to several studio projects by other artists including Chris Kasper, Schoolly D, James Kleuh, The Princes Of Babylon, The Burndown Allstars, Adam Brodsky, Scott Silipigni and Stargazer Lily. She also is backing vocalist/percussionist for Philadelphia’s Steph Hayes and The Good Problems and appears on their 2006 full-length album Dirty Beauty.
To keep her voice and guitar chops in tip-top shape, Mia keeps busy between original music engagements by performing her large repertoire of cover songs solo-acoustic in the several tri-state area venues and for private events. Playing popular songs of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and beyond, she can entertain an energetic crowd for hours at a time with just herself and guitar. For more information on this or booking click here.