John Harrold Craigie III (born June 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and storyteller. Hailed as a “Modern-Day Troubadour” in the style of Woody Guthrie, Craigie’s comedic storytelling style has been compared to Mitch Hedberg, while his music and commitment to living on the road has drawn comparisons to Guthrie, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Pete Seeger.
He has performed with or opened for Jack Johnson, Gregory Alan Isakov, Todd Snider, Paul Thorn, James McMurtry, Shawn Colvin, Sean Hayes, Nicki Bluhm, Aoife O’Donovan, ALO, Shook Twins, Rainbow Girls, Avett Brothers, and Trampled by Turtles.
John Craigie was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is the grandson of U.S. Air Force general Laurence Craigie. He attended college at UC Santa Cruz in Northern California, where he graduated with a degree in mathematics. In Santa Cruz he began performing live music in local venues and house parties, first as lead singer and guitarist in a psychedelic rock band, “Pond Rock”, then solo as a folk singer-songwriter and storyteller. He self-released several albums of songs in this period before his first major studio album, 2009’s Montana Tale.
Craigie is best known for his live performances which blend folk songwriting with comedic storytelling. His 2016 live album, Capricorn In Retrograde… Just Kidding… Live in Portland, wound up on Jack Johnson’s car stereo on a drive up the California coast, prompting Johnson to ask Craigie to open for him on 11 dates of his 2017 national Summer tour. Throughout the tour, Johnson brought Craigie on stage during his set to co-perform Craigie’s song, “I Wrote Mr. Tambourine Man”; the pair released a single of the song, recorded live at The Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California.
Craigie has released eight studio albums, two live albums, and two cover albums. His album No Rain, No Rose, released in 2017, was recorded in his Portland-home living room, and features Gregory Alan Isakov and Shook Twins. 2020’s Asterisk The Universe features Rainbow Girls and was recorded with friends in a Northern California cabin.
Sacramento’s K-ZAP 93.3 FM plays John Craigie. All part of 50 years of Rock, Blues and More, 24-7 on our station’s stream at K-ZAP.ORG/LISTEN/
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