Johnny Burroughs
“I was looking out over a crowd of over 8,000 people and everyone was singing along together, and singing something I am creating right now, in the moment. You can’t beat that feeling of unity. Music creates transcendent moments like this, and those are what I am chasing.” That moment in 2015 at the Bohemian Nights New West Festival in Fort Collins, Colorado was a landmark moment for Johnny Burroughs, but his love of music and performing started at a young age.
Born in Aurora, Colorado to two pastors, Johnny was exposed to music and live performance at an early age. “My earliest musical memories are going to church events with my Dad playing worship for hours on end, and then dancing and miming instruments at home to recordings of the “California Raisins” doing versions of classic soul and doo-wop tunes.” This musical combination of spiritual and soul music is the bedrock for Johnny’s creativity. Being a preacher’s kid, Johnny was heavily involved in the workings of the church. He began playing music weekly at his church at the age of 11 and started leading worship meetings at age 15. He developed an ear for arrangements, along with the ability to lead a band and read a crowd.
Throughout his late teens and early twenties Johnny started several bands, released self produced solo albums and EPs and toured the country with various artists. Along the way he continued to lead worship weekly in churches, as well as create, compose, produce, direct and perform in large scale dance productions for Elluminate Productions: a non-profit production company that created dance productions to fundraise for local resources in African communities.
In 2013 Johnny co-created the band The Burroughs, a nine-member funk and soul outfit, and began the most fruitful time of his creativity. Johnny has written and produced every song that the Burroughs have released and leads the overall creative vision for the band. The Burroughs have been touted as the best live band in Colorado (CPR NEWS) and Johnny’s charismatic and energetic stage performance wows audiences across the US.
In 2019 Johnny wrote, produced, and released his first solo album entitled DAY 1. The album is a blend of Johnny's influences including gospel, hip hop, funk and 60’s California beach music. The album release was also accompanied by a series of six music videos exploring a variety of settings and moods, directed and edited by Johnny. Day 1 has served as a launchpad for Johnny to collaborate with other artists as a songwriter, music producer, video director, and live show producer.
“I love to work with people and create something that is connected to our hearts and ultimately brings more people together,” he says. “That feeling of creating something new in the moment, that is the ultimate high for me and the feeling I am chasing.”
