JOHNNYSWIM TAKE OVER THE BOWERY

Johnnyswim, the melodically musical duo out of Nashville mesmerized and romanticized Bowery Ballroom last week. The two (actual husband and wife) are James Taylor/Carole King, Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks, and Johnny Cash/June Carter in their duet style songwriting and performing which covers genres all across the board including pop, soul, funk, and singer-songwriter. Made up of singer Amanda Sudano, the daughter of the late, great Donna Summer and singer/guitarist Abner Ramirez, the two have an on stage chemistry that people love coming out to see every night. Tuesday was no exception, as a sold-out Bowery Ballroom was filled with love struck women and the boyfriends that were dragged out by them.

On tour in support of their recent release Diamonds, the two, backed by a drum/bass/elec. guitar backing band gave fans plenty to dance and sing along to as they covered new material like ‘Trouble’, ‘You And I’, ‘A Million Years’, and ‘Falling For Me’ early on in their set. Of course as Abner sang a song about his mother titled ‘Adelina’, every girl in the room immediately dropped their panties in a wave of lovable swooning. I can’t blame them though, I also partook. The ending of the song features Abner singing Spanish lyrics Tú eres mi cielo, mar y sol; Tu fortaleza cambia al derredor- which means ‘You are my sky, sea, and sun; your strength to change around’.. obviously.

I really had a lot of fun watching the two have a lot of fun up on stage. Unlike the Jay-Z and Beyonce whose performances together every night is nothing but a contractual money-filled sham, it’s clear these two genuinely love performing music and sharing their passion with both each other and the fans that come out to see them each night, and it reflects in how well they sound. They have that great coffee shop sound which fits in perfectly on those rainy ray and post-breakup playlists we all love. Johnnyswim‘s talented musical ability allows them to to sound as clear and harmonically aligned live as they do on record.

Article by: Tom Shackleford

Photos by: Lesley Keller