John Smith (folk musician)

John Smith
John Smith
Origin	Essex, England
Genres	Folk; indie folk;
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar; vocals;
Labels	BARP Ltd(UK),
Website	johnsmithjohnsmith.com

John Smith is an English folk guitarist and singer from Devon.^[1]

He has toured Britain, Europe and America extensively, both solo and with artists such as Iron and Wine, James Yorkston, John Martyn, David Gray,^[2] Jools Holland, Gil Scott-Heron and Lisa Hannigan^[3] (whose records he also plays on). Smith remained unsigned to any record label for several years, but released several self-funded albums. Recent releases have been distributed by Thirty Tigers.

After the death of John Martyn, he appeared on a tribute album to Martyn alongside Bombay Bicycle Club, Paolo Nutini, Snow Patrol, Phil Collins and Beth Orton.^[4]^[5]

His unique guitar style has influenced many artists including James Newton Chadwick and Ben Howard.^[6] In particular Smith uses a variety of open tunings and percussive techniques (especially on the song "Winter").

Discography (Albums)

The Fox and the Monk (2006)
Live At The Roundhouse (2007)
Map or Direction (2009)
Eavesdropping (2011)
Great Lakes (2013)
Headlong (2017) 15 UK Indie
Hummingbird (2018) 30 UK Indie
Live In Chester (2020) (Commoner/Thirty Tigers)
The Fray (2021) (Commoner Records) 40 UK Indie
The Fray: Variations (2022) - 6-track album
The Living Kind (2024) (Commoner/Thirty Tigers) 10 UK indie

References

^ "John Smith biography". Retrieved 31 December 2016.
^ "Announcement of John Smith supporting David Gray". Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
^ "List of musicians playing on Lisa Hannigan's records". Archived from the original on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
^ "Review of "Johnny Boy Would Love This – A Tribute to John Martyn"". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
^ "Johnny Boy Would Love This – A Tribute to John Martyn on Amazon". Amazon. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
^ "Ben Howard talks about John Smith's influence on his guitar style". Youtube.com. Retrieved 9 March 2013.

External links

Fan website

[1] "John Smith biography". Retrieved 31 December 2016.

[2] "Announcement of John Smith supporting David Gray". Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.

[3] "List of musicians playing on Lisa Hannigan's records". Archived from the original on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.

[4] "Review of "Johnny Boy Would Love This – A Tribute to John Martyn"". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 March 2013.

[5] "Johnny Boy Would Love This – A Tribute to John Martyn on Amazon". Amazon. Retrieved 9 March 2013.

[6] "Ben Howard talks about John Smith's influence on his guitar style". Youtube.com. Retrieved 9 March 2013.

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