Folk singer/songwriter Johnsmith was born into a family of ten children in Dewitt, IA. After learning to play the guitar at 19, he began writing songs, leading to a career that found him playing over 150 dates a year. A winner of the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival, he has also won songwriting awards at the Telluride, Rocky Mountain Folks, and Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals. He self-released his debut album, Hole in the Clouds, in 1998, and followed it with To the Four Directions (2000), Traveler (2002), and Kickin' This Stone (2004). He has also recorded two duo albums with Dan Sebranek, Runaway and No Turning Back, and was part of the duo Smith & Mayer, who released In the Blend. On April 18, 2006, he released his fifth solo album, Break Me Open. ~ William Ruhlmann