Datrian Johnson’s Appalachian Soul

Gospel, soul, folk, blues, funk, show tunes and more: those are just some of the styles in which Asheville native Datrian Johnson is immersed. The singer’s body of work – live and on recordings – spans those genres and beyond. He’s a star at home, and a first-call vocalist for some of music’s most accomplished artists. On the eve of his debut album under his own name, Johnson is the opening act on a run of dates included on the “Ta Ta for Now” farewell tour of another act beloved in Asheville: The New Mastersounds. Johnson opened for the NMS at Asheville Music Hall on November 11.

Locally, Datrian Johnson is known as an expressive and authentic vocalist, and a key member of a number of regionally acts including The Fritz, Free Radio and more. With his own band The Family Tree, Johnson has opened locally for big names like Eric Gales. But those accomplishments only scratch the surface of Johnson’s artistry.

As Johnson prepares to break out nationally under his own name, he’s sharing a bill with one of his favorite bands as they bow out of public performance. “I’ve been going to see them for years,” he says. When he told friends that he was opening for the New Mastersounds on four dates, “they were like, ‘No flippin’ way!’” he says.

Johnson got his start in the gospel idiom. “I was on Bobby Jones Gospel when I was 12,” he recalls. That long-running program on the BET Network – hosted by “the Ed Sullivan of gospel music” – served as a launching pad. “I started touring with [gospel group] Fred Hammond and Men of Standard,” he says. But even then, Johnson’s musical interests extended well beyond sacred music. “I was really into musicals like Les Miserables, Rent and Bye Bye Birdie,” he explains. “I realized, ‘I want to be on Broadway!’”

Johnson went on to attend ETSU, earning a degree in vocal performance. He was determined that Broadway would be his next stop. But first, he returned home to Asheville. “I came home, and I got shot,” he says. Endeavoring to push a teen – the intended target – out of the line of fire, he says that he took three bullets from an AK-47. “That slowed me down a lot.” The death of his brother soon thereafter was yet another blow. “But music is what carried me through,” Johnson says.

A prominent spot performing at the Los Angeles premiere of the Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace brought Johnson’s talents to a wider audience. “That’s where I met John Medeski,” he says. After “getting kicked off” The Voice – a near miss with fame he tartly characterizes as “a blessing in disguise” – Johnson joined Medeski’s new soul project, Saint Disruption. “We did a few albums together; John really took me under his wing,” he says.

Other major projects followed, including tours with Luther Dickinson’s North Mississippi All Stars. “In fact,” Johnson says, “Luther and I just released an album.” Dead Blues is a re-imagining of traditional folk and blues songs that found their way into the Grateful Dead’s playlists.

In some ways, all of Johnson’s previous endeavors – the local bands, Saint Disruption, Dead Blues, work with Warren Haynes and more – have all been leading up to Datrian Johnson’s upcoming solo record. Earlier this year, Johnson signed a management contract with Eddie Roberts – guitarist in the New Mastersounds – and began work on The Medicine Cabinet, an all-original collection of songs set for release next March on Roberts’ Color Red label.

Johnson first met Roberts in 2023 when both men were part of a one-off ensemble that John Medeski assembled to headline the Bajaja Music Fest. “I was like, ‘Yo, huge fan; you’re so awesome!’ He was like, ‘Nice to meet you, too.” Johnson likens Roberts’ guitar style to what The Joy of Painting’s Bob Ross did with paint. “He’s gonna put a pretty little butterfly over here,” he says with a laugh, amazed that three years later he’s working closely with Roberts.

For the album, Johnson says he wrote letters to himself, and made songs out of those. Each track is a chronicle of a healing experience. “Every song has an ‘Rx number,’” Johnson explains. “It’ll tell you what I was going through at that time, and what healed for me.”

Sessions for The Medicine Cabinet took place at Echo Mountain Studios with Galactic bassist Rob Mercurio producing. “Eddie came to town a few weeks ago,” Johnson recalls. “We rented [the studio] for a day; we didn’t have anything prepared, but we left with five new songs recorded.” A succession of five singles will be released well ahead of the album’s street date. The first of those, “Me and Myself” debuted on October 24.

Johnson’s album features fellow Asheville-based players Dwayne Simpson, Isaac Hayden, Nik Hope, Josh Blake and others. The album also showcases musical heavyweights from beyond Asheville; Johnson mentions Medeski, Roberts, Dickinson, Vernon Reid, Terrence Higgins and more. “The album is filled with really good [musicians] who are also really good friends of mine,” he says.

Though there are myriad influences and styles that inform his new album – and his musical worldview overall – Johnson believes that it all comes together. Describing The Medicine Cabinet’s character as “acoustic elements with a lot of soul and church,” he sums it up succinctly: “We’re creating a sound called Appalachian soul.”