Bio: John Dennis has been Nashville, TN based singer songwriter signed to Rainfeather Records for the better part of the last decade. He has developed his own unique brand of Americana music that, at once, harkens back to some of folk music's greatest lyricists, namely: Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and James Taylor, while also carving out a musical place that is uniquely his own. These influences likely come as no surprise to those hailing from the Belleville, IL area--as, prior to moving to Nashville in 2010, John spent years playing in The Still Montgomeries, a popular cover band, alongside his friends and classmates from Freeburg High School: Mason Lakatos, Hans Carpenter, Taylor Fehrenz, and Mark Benton.
As a solo artist, John released his third full length record, "Mortal Flames" in January 2020, and, like the two that came before ("Eternity's Tree" and "Second Wind"), it represented a substantial creative work brimming with an extraordinary maturity for a writer still in his twenties-- both in the complexity of his craft and the courageous transparency of his subject matter. The record received glowing acclaim and established John among the premiere songwriters in the East Nashville Americana scene where he plays regularly. He was also a finalist in the illustrious 2024 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition and plays regularly in Texas.
That being said, no matter how the world turns, Dennis has persevered and made a name for himself by never shying away from revealing his own scars, such as the tragic death of his girlfriend in 2010, his subsequent near fatal struggle with alcoholism, and his road to recovery, Dennis creates a deep human connection with his music and has an uncanny ability to provide an incredible testimony of hope and redemption that can only come from those that have found their way out of life's most tragic and consuming darknesses. His work has been acclaimed by American Songwriter Magazine, The Alternate Root, and many others. For an artist who seems to run so deep, and whose authenticity plants him so firmly on the ground, the sky seems to be the limit for John Dennis--especially as he now returns to playing live again and is planning to return to the studio to begin work on his fourth full length album.
You may also like the following events from VENUE on Main:
Also check out other
Arts events in Belleville,
Music events in Belleville,
Festivals in Belleville.