Exposition

John Conley is a multi-faceted musician dedicated to craft, sound, and feel. His interest in and experience performing diverse styles of music has led to a unique career. He is also a dedicated teacher with over twenty-five years of experience. He doesn’t shy away from an opportunity to play, always willing to let music take him anywhere in life.

Development

At a young age, he started exploring various instruments before settling on the guitar at ten. Under the direction of James "Saxmo" Gates at Maggie Walker's Governor's School, he developed a particular interest in Jazz guitar, leading him to pursue a bachelor's degree in performance at Virginia Commonwealth University with a focus in Jazz Studies. There he found guidance and inspiration from renowned Jazz faculty, such as Doug Richards, Skip Gailes, Mike Ess and Howard Curtis.

Recap

John has been fortunate enough to be immersed in Richmond, Virginia’s vibrant music scene, sharing the stage with Rusty Farmer, Kevin Gaines, Terri Simpson, Lee Covington, Scott Clark, Kevin Simpson, Kevin Johnson, Thomas Wakefield, Larry Lyles, Jackie Frost, Emme St. James, Charles Arthur, Roger Carroll, Brian Sulser, and so many others.

He was also fortunate enough to be part of Samson Trinh’s Upper East Side Big Band where they backed up national acts including Jason Mraz, KD Lang, René Marie, Sarah Bareilles, Christina Perry, Chris Stills, Rob Thomas, Paul Williams and Chris Caswell.