Meet Andi & Ken Johnson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andi & Ken Johnson. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Ken & Andi Johnson have been Nashville Songwriters for 20 years in Nashville. Andi had 3 pub deals, Ken 4.

Ken Johnson’s songs have been recorded by many artists including Uncle Kracker, Tyler Farr, Billy Gibbons, Tim Montana, and The Shrednecks, Harry Connick Jr., Butch Walker, Chris Janson, Craig Morgan, Joey and Rory, Clare Bowen and Buddy Miller, Josh Thompson, The Farm, Ty Stone, Josh Grider, Lisa Lambe of Celtic Women Group, Walt Wilkins, Wayne Newton, and Paul Sanders with Vince Gill among others.

Past hits include Josh Thompson’s “Beer On The Table” and Craig Morgan’s “Still A Little Chicken Left On That Bone” and more recently, “You Dream I’ll Drive”, ”Summer and 16″ and “White Van” all of which reached the #1 spot with popular Texas artist Josh Grider. He has written multiple songs for television shows like ABC’s ”Nashville”, CMT’s “I Love Kellie Pickler” and CW’s hit show “Hart of Dixie”.

Ken has collaborated with members of ZZ Top, Cheap Trick, Matchbox 20, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, and NRBQ. In 2012, Ken released his own album, “Dang Good Day”, in association with Warner Chappell Music and Combustion Music. The album features tracks written by singer/songwriters like Randy Houser, Frankie Ballard, Josh Thompson, Brothers Osborne, Sarah Buxton, and Eric Paslay.

Currently, Ken has two singles on the radio. One with new Universal artist, Marty Heddin, called “Game Changer”… co-written with his wife Andi Zack-Johnson and produced by Kieth Stegall (Alan Jackson/Zac Brown Band), and “Hammer” by country newcomer Ben Daniel. Ken along with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Tim Montana have created the theme song for a new major motion picture called American Dresser, set to hit theaters in the Spring of 2018 starring Tom Beringer and Gena Gershon.

Ken has appeared on Fox and Friends and Good Morning America and has performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Ken and their wife Andi Zack-Johnson are known as the popular new children’s music duo, Huck and Lilly. Their albums “There’s A Tree Growing In My Room” and “Sunshine” was co-produced with multi-Grammy and Dove award winner Skidd Mills.

Ken and Andi are also cast members of the hit television show and Ryan Seacrest production, “I Love Kellie Pickler” on CMT which has aired for 3 seasons.

Andi Zack-Johnson. From British Columbia, Canada, Singer/Songwriter Andi Zack-Johnson has written songs recorded by artists such as Brothers Osborne, Josh Thompson, Danielle Peck, Etta Britt, Drew Gregory, and others… Vince Gill recorded two of Andi’s songs with his daughter Jenny Gill for her debut album released in late 2016.

She also co-wrote Josh Thompson’s smash hit, “Beer On The Table” and long-time Delbert McClinton band vocalist Etta Britt’s “Make It Fast”, which was featured on Good Morning America. Look for Andi’s song “Heart-Shaped Locket” on Capital recording artist, Brothers Osborne’s grammy-winning debut album, Pawn Shop. Andi has also released her own CD called “Love Party”.

The unique new CD features 11 songs all written on the ukelele. The project was produced by 2 times Grammy-winning producer Skidd Mills along with Aerosmith keyboardist, Buck Johnson. Andi and her husband Ken Johnson are also known as the popular new children’s music duo, Huck and Lilly.

Their albums “There’s A Tree Growing In My Room” and “Sunshine” was co-produced with multi-Grammy and Dove award winner Skidd Mills. Ken and Andi are also cast members of the hit television show and Ryan Seacrest production, “I Love Kellie Pickler” on CMT which has aired for 3 seasons.

Huck & Lilly – Music for Kids AND the grown-ups who love them. You and your children will love getting to know Huck and Lilly!

“There’s a Tree Growing in my Room” and “Sunshine” are two full-length albums by Huck & Lilly. Each collection of songs is imaginative labor of love 100% written, produced, and performed by husband and wife team and award-winning Nashville songwriting veterans, Ken Johnson and Andi Zack-Johnson (aka Huck & Lilly), along with multi-Grammy and Dove award-winning producer, Skidd Mills.

You and your family will enjoy the array of different character voices, harmonies, humorous and heartwarming stories as well as a wide variety of fun instrumentation that make up this whimsical and entertaining journey featuring music for kids AND the grown-ups who love them!

That’s right… music for kids that the grown-ups will want to listen to too!

Huck and Lilly introduce a positive and colorful cast of characters.

From Slo-Mo Joe, an ambitious turtle who finds a way to embrace the speed of life, to Pretty Bird, a free-spirited, wing-clipped parrot accustomed to an adventurous life at sea who falls overboard from a pirate ship and ends up in a zoo only to be rescued by his captain and returned to his pirate destiny…

Then there’s Phil the Fiddler Crab (“he don’t play the fiddle”), Sandy The Surfing Starfish, Dexter The Hamster and the inseparable Puppy and Guppy, and many more all waiting for you to get to know them!

Huck and Lilly perform to thousands of kids each year at churches, schools, and theaters all over.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Of course with the music business, there were ups and downs, songs recorded by major artists and then not making the albums were low points, and songs making albums were high points.

Ken performing the song he wrote on The Harry Show with Harry Connick Jr. was a great moment. Andi Singing on stage backing up Brothers Osborne to a song she wrote that the Brothers recorded was fun. All of their experiences lead them to Huck & Lilly, music for kids, where they now perform 2 days a week at The Seaside Amphitheater.

This is their eighth year performing for families from all over the country has been a hugely rewarding highlight. They have had 7 singles on Sirius XM’s Kid’s Place Live.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Ken & Andi (aka Huck & Lilly) and their music for kids has been a wonderfully creative experience. Unlike writing music for a specific genre like country or rock music, they were able to be free creatively by including a lot of different genres on their Huck & Lilly albums.

Kids just know what they like, if it’s good, not by what genre it is. Huck & Lilly’s music can include country, rock, pop, reggae, etc. What sets their children’s music apart from other children’s music is that they made both of their albums (and now working on the third), keeping the parents in mind as well. They wanted the parents to also enjoy the music.

Therefore, they carefully crafted the lyrics and produced the music where it would be pleasing and popular with both the kids AND the parents. “A lot of parents tell us that after they drop their kids off in the carpool line, they continue to enjoy listening to Huck & Lilly.”

Says Ken. “My friend country artists Kellie Pickler doesn’t even have children, and she was caught the other day in her convertible singing “I Sat On A Porcupine” at the top of her lungs at a red light.” Said Andi. “We sing music for kids that won’t drive the parents crazy. I think that’s what sets us apart.”

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, Ken and Andi wrote poems and made-up songs in their early teens. Anything musical caught their attention. They both found their way to Nashville where they met in 2006 and married in 2012.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/huckandlilly
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/huckandlillyofficial
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/huckandlilly

Image Credits
Dawn Chapman, Whitty Kellie Pickler, and Jennifer Hunter