More Information

John R. Miller belongs to the rare breed of songwriters whose expansive introspection uncovers so many truths about the state of the human condition.

Raised in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, Miller first started honing his singular songwriting voice as a teenager, in between playing gigs at local church halls with his various garage bands. In his late teens, he crossed paths with a group of musicians who introduced him to traditional fiddle music, which proved to be pivotal in his growth as an artist. “There was a whole world I didn’t know about, and I got to learning about all these folk tunes that had been passed down orally for generations,” he says. “My first touring group was a string band; we drove around in a Dodge Caravan for quite a few years, playing square dances and bluegrass festivals and a whole lot of bars. Part of the beauty of that music is it’s not easily commercialized—it’s about sharing tunes and knowledge, and it made me realize that music is meant to be a communal act.” During that same era, Miller had another major breakthrough upon discovering the music of John Prine. “Hearing John Prine for the first time made me rethink what a song could be and showed me how you could have a profound impact on someone just by virtue of sharing a simple story or experience they might relate to,” he says. “The life I’m living now started then—it was a real awakening moment".

Genres

More Live Nation Events