Johnathan Smith says that his ultimate goal as a musician is “to make people happy!” Smith certainly achieves this goal and so much more every time he graces a stage or studio with his consistently energetic, emotionally charged style of finessing his instrument.
His journey with the ivories began at the tender age of 10 years old as the keyboard and piano player for his mother who was a pastor in East Chicago, Indiana.
Life soon thereafter landed Smith in Charleston, West Virginia in 2003. During his time in WV, Smith’s musical journey allowed for him to play on a number of stages including ones in Austria and Japan. He was introduced to the organ through playing in WV churches and added it to the arsenal of instruments he mastered. He has played in many bands and for many artists including Jonathan Dunn, Paul S. Morton, Twinkie Clark, Tasha Page-Lockhart, Paula Champion, J.J. Hairston, Lawrence Flowers, Micah Wilshire, and The Wilson Brothers Band.
Smith hit the ground running on the music scene when he arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, in the summer of 2017, where he currently resides. When he isn’t on the road as a band member for artist Hunter Hayes, playing keyboards and singing background vocals, he is a studio session musician and plays with local Nashville bands including Sam McCrary and The Mix, The Grant Garland Band, The Network, and his own local band J. Smith and Great Vibes. He is also the organ/keyboard player and one of the musical directors of Judah Temple of Praise Ministries of Nashville, TN.
His brilliant and lively keyboard stylings are a hot commodity in the places he has played and soon will be all over the world. The sky is the limit for this musical mastermind. Keep your eyes open and your ears keen for Johnathan Smith!
