Meet Johanna Wacker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Johanna Wacker.

Hi Johanna, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Queens, NY, but recall a childhood split between two realms—the chaotic urbanity of New York City and the tranquility of rural Virginia. With New York Italian roots on one side and Appalachian Scotch-Irish roots on the other, I would say I had an eclectic upbringing. I grew up in a music-loving household, despite having no musicians in my immediate family. I began songwriting on the piano at age 11 but found that I favored string instruments after picking up an acoustic guitar around that time. Songwriting proved to be my most valuable emotional outlet as a kid, and it still is today.

At 14, I discovered my love for mountain music, which changed the trajectory of my songwriting. I attended a week-long summer program in Big Stone Gap, VA, called Mountain Music School between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. I enrolled for fiddle, but quickly developed an affinity for clawhammer banjo after closely watching banjo players at the school. After spending the week in the heart of Southwest Virginia learning traditional Appalachian music, I immediately felt a strong pull to the tradition. For the first time in my life, I felt truly connected to my roots in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I started teaching myself clawhammer banjo and going to old-time jams when I returned to NYC.

I went to LaGuardia High School, a public performing arts school in Manhattan, so I was surrounded by music constantly as a teenager. Throughout high school, I gigged around NYC as a singer-songwriter, accompanying myself on banjo and guitar. These early gigs were my first professional endeavors as a songwriter, and I was playing at places like the Bitter End and Jalopy Theatre. After spending a year at Davidson College in North Carolina, I realized I wanted to pursue music full-time. I then enrolled at Berklee College of Music when I was 20, after taking some time off from school to teach music lessons and play shows around NYC. I completed three semesters at Berklee, focusing my studies in the American Roots Music Program. I took classes with legendary musicians and songwriters, such as Roots Songwriting and Tune Writing with Mark Simos, clawhammer banjo and Old Time Fiddle Ensemble with Bruce Molsky, and bluegrass banjo with Greg Liszt. I found my time at Berklee to be extremely enriching, playing a pivotal role in my growth as a musician and songwriter.

In 2022, I launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund my debut studio album, after being scouted in a talent search by Plaid Dog Recording in Waltham, MA. I have already recorded my debut single, “You Wanted a Cowboy (But You Got Me),” with Plaid Dog Recording, which was released this past August. I plan to release the full album, “Garden Over Embers,” in 2023. The album will feature my original songs that tell stories of struggle, addiction, and love.

My love of performing and teaching stems from an intrinsic desire to connect with others through music, as it was the main outlet that helped me through dark times as a teenager and young adult. I am openly lesbian, and breaking barriers in country music by being unapologetically myself. I advocate for more female and gay representation in the country and Appalachian music, genres that are typically male-dominated and associated with a straight, more conservative crowd. I am also sober and in recovery from addiction and alcoholism. I talk about my past struggles with substance abuse in my music, as well as my subsequent sobriety and recovery. I find it important to write about these issues, hoping my songs resonate with others with similar struggles and inspire recovery.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I was coping with my struggles with mental illness very unhealthily throughout my teenage years and early adulthood. I grew up around alcoholism, and it definitely became my blueprint for coping later in life. Even though my passion for music mostly remained constant, my desire for escapism started to replace it little by little. When I was 17, things started getting really bad with drugs and alcohol, and continued like that until I was 20. I stopped gigging completely during my worst benders, and I traded my audience for whatever was on tap. I rarely even played music for my own enjoyment when I hit my absolute bottom.

I am proud to say that I have been sober since June 22, 2021. With over a year and a half of sobriety under my belt, I feel much more equipped to deal with whatever life throws my way. I am more ambitious and finally have genuine goals for myself and my career. Music has definitely helped me stay sober, especially in songwriting. This past year was very hard. I lost a close friend to suicide, had multiple friends relapse, dealt with a myriad of health issues, and faced homophobia and criticism after coming out publicly in my genre. I am thankful that I stayed sober through it all. Many of the songs I have written this year pertain to my more recent struggles.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a singer-songwriter, primarily writing in the country and folk genres. My main focus in folk music is American roots music, particularly Appalachian old-time and bluegrass. I play the traditional mountain banjo style known as clawhammer, as well as guitar, fiddle, and mandolin.

My formative years had an immense influence on me in finding my voice as a songwriter, breeding a harmonious combination of stylistic elements resembling mountain music and old country, with a contemporary, urban flare. Recently I have been getting more recognition as an Appalachian folk revivalist and queer country artist, thanks to my TikTok account, which now has over 24,000 followers.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was fossil and arrowhead hunting with my father. We would do this all the time at the clay cliffs near my grandparent’s home in Warsaw, Virginia. I still go back there with him from time to time, and it is always very nostalgic.

Contact Info:

• Website: johannawacker.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johannawacker
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/johannawackermusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/johannawacker
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JohannaWacker/
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/johanna-wacker
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johannawackermusic

Image Credits
Dakota Shatto