Steeped in the deep folk music traditions of Appalachia, and further molded by his prodigious young success, singer-songwriter John-Robert today releases the new single “Other Side.” His first new release since 2023’s Garden Snake EP and first release as an independent artist, “Other Side” was written in remembrance of his grandmother, as a gift to his mother. Opting for an alternative tuning on his guitar, there’s a richness in the song’s woody tone, counterbalanced by a feeling of melancholy. Both raw in its production and emotional sentiment, the meditation on familial love and loss ends with a funeral-like organ fading in and out — Stream.
“My grandmother was in hospice care while I was living in Los Angeles, and I was getting updates on her condition from my mother over the phone. I thought about my mom and how she was losing her mother. I thought about how I’d feel losing my mother,” remembers John-Robert. “I’m ashamed to say mom-mom and I weren’t extremely close. After her passing, I felt like I lost out on getting to know someone who heavily influenced and created my favorite person. She was caring, kind, quick witted and smart. When you talked with her, you felt like the only person left on planet earth. Our last conversation, we shared an agreement that there should be no stigma around adults climbing trees.”
In early 2025, John-Robert made the move from LA back to his home of Edinburg, Virginia (pop. 1,070). After spending 6 years on the West Coast, he knew that the best way to prioritize his mental health was returning to the place where he first fell in love with music and with himself. Put simply, John-Robert shared that the people in his hometown “want more for me than they want from me.”
Surrounded by familiar faces and bathed in the Shenandoah River, John-Robert’s upcoming music is a nostalgic scrapbook of memories he’s ready to let listeners leaf through. This is seen in today’s official video for “Other Side” where he digitized decades worth of family home videos — Watch.
At the end of September, John-Robert will hit the road alongside Felly. Beginning in Kentucky on September 23, John-Rober’s support dates will make major stops in Brooklyn, Chicago and Nashville, before coming to a close on October 10 in Alabama. See all dates here and below.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
August 14 – Malibu, CA – Aviator Nation Dreamland
September 23 – Louisville, KY – Headliners*
September 24 – Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI Indianapolis*
September 26 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg*
September 27 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair*
September 28 – Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry*
September 30 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Music Hall*
October 1 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups*
October 3 – Ferndale, MI – The Loving Touch*
October 4 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall*
October 7 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East*
October 9 – Atlanta, GA- Terminal West*
October 10 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn*
*supporting Felly
ABOUT JOHN-ROBERT:
John-Robert has been a notable performer since he was a child, it is simply what he was born to do. At only 13 years old, John-Robert was handpicked to perform on the Ellen show as a musical child prodigy. At 19, he left his hometown Edinburg, VA (pop. 1,070) in 2019 to move to LA and start his music career, bypassing a scholarship to Berklee. He was signed to Nice Life/ Warner by Grammy-nominated producer Ricky Reed (Leon Bridges, Lizzo) and released a handful of singles and EPs over a few years, earning him co-signs from artists Alessia Cara and Camilla Cabello. But it was a live fireside performance of his 2023 song “Come Pick Me Up” that catapulted John-Robert’s lilting blend of traditional folk and Appalachian country into the modern pop landscape. He toured extensively in 2023 and 2024 in the US and abroad supporting artists like Madi Diaz, Rayland Baxter, Leon Bridges and even Liam Gallagher.
Virginia, and his family there, has always been a source of inspiration for the singer-songwriter. On making his 2023 EP Garden Snake he says, “It was like trying to make a Virginia record in LA.” A move back home to Virginia in early 2025 made perfect sense as he embarked on creating a new body of work. The move was a way to pull himself out of the professional and personal turmoil of LA, and reconnect with the people and places that made him who he is today – the banks of the North Fork Shenandoah River and rolling hillsides, the home-cooked meals and close-knit community. Newly independent, expect more music and live shows from John-Robert throughout 2025 and beyond.
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For more information on John-Robert, please visit:
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For all John-Robert press materials and inquiries, please contact:
Madi Florence | madi@bighassle.com