(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- On Sunday, September 22, 2024, the Lizzie Rose Music Room presents acclaimed blues guitarist Joanna Connor. Bees Deluxe will open the night. Showtime is 7:30pm.
Connor is widely regarded as one of the most talented blues rock guitarists and vocalists in the music industry. She has been praised by fellow performers and fans alike for her incredible musicianship, stage presence, and unique style.
Joanna Connor was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, and after beginning her career there at the age of 17, packed a suitcase, a Fender Twin Amp, a guitar and bought a bus ticket to the Blues Mecca of Chicago, where her goal was to be in a cracking blues band learning from the best. A mere month after moving to the Windy City, Delta blues heavyweight Johnny Littlejohn hired her. A few months after that, Dion Payton enlisted her to be a part of his 43rd Street Blues Band, where they held residencies at the hallowed Checkerboard Lounge and the Kingston Mines blues clubs, and were the backing band behind every major talent in the city. Joanna went on to tour with sax great AC Reed before starting her own band at the urging of the Kingston Mines owner. Blind Pig Records signed Joanna in 1989 and released several records on her before she went on to become the second artist to sign with Ruf Records; subsequently releasing many records for the German-based label, which led to a decade of touring throughout Europe.
In 2002, The House of Blues in Chicago offered Joanna and her band a weekly residency, and with her additional residency at the Kingston Mines, Connor made the decision to come off the road touring grind for a while and work locally four nights per week, while raising her two children as a single mom. Joanna also recorded several albums for the highly-respected MC Records during that decade.
In 2019, one of the videos of her fierce guitar work caught the eyes and ears of one of the most prominent guitarists of the modern era - Joe Bonamassa - as well as director Adrian Lynne (Flash Dance, Fatal Attraction). Lynne offered her a scene performing in the movie, Deep Water, starring Ben Affleck. At the same time, Joe Bonamassa and his KTBA Records label gave her the opportunity to make a studio album. Both projects happened right before the COVID 19 epidemic and subsequent lockdown. The KTBA album, 4801 South Indiana, was released in February of 2021 to immense critical acclaim and a number one spot on the Billboard blues chart. The Deep Water film was released on Hulu in March, 2022.
Now being a part of the Gulf Coast Records family, Joanna Connors career path is in full-bloom, playing with sympathetic musicians and a support staff all in lock-step, along with a common purpose and goal of reaching for the top of the blues world. Joanna’s tsunami of musical energy and passion was unleashed on record with last year's release of Best of Me.
Tickets are $38 and available for purchase online. The Lizzie Rose Music Room is located at 217 East Main Street in Tuckerton, New Jersey. Free parking is available.
