Biography

Since 2005 The Johnny Possum Band (formerly Johnny Possum’s Good Time Hootin’ Band) has been delivering their own brand of alt-country, Americana and bluegrass music featuring guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and upright bass. From performances throughout New Zealand, to appearances at festivals and venues in the USA the band has developed a solid fan base and following.

Taking the role of vocalist and mandolin player, Bryan Peters, lays a solid vocal and instrumental foundation for the band. Kat Lambarth, the American import, on fiddle and vocals shows her background grounded in Americana roots music. On 5 string banjo and guitjo, Sean Whitaker, adds 3 fingered rolls and syncopated styles typical of alt-country, bluegrass, string band and old time musical styles. Keith Taylor on guitar and vocals lays down the driving rhythms so typical of this particular style of American roots music, he also adds a voice full of character and completes the harmony work. Jonathan Rosanowski shows off just one facet of his diverse multi-instrumentalist talents behind a solid upright bass providing the rhythmic bedrock for the band.

The band’s debut CD, ‘Tickets’ released in 2006 featured the band performing mainly traditional bluegrass tunes in their own style and was a finalist for a 2007 New Zealand Music Award for best Country Music Album, and their first original single, ‘Bluegrass Saved the Earth’ was a finalist for Country Music Single of the year. The band delivered its 2nd CD, ‘Twister’, in February 2008. Building on strong Americana roots this recording branches out and incorporates the band’s own strong original musical offerings and sees the sound of the band begin to reflect influences from bluegrass, folk, Irish, old time and even a hint of rockabilly. In June of 2009 the band released their 3rd CD, ‘Live at the HarbourLight’ this time with a DVD. They recorded a live performance at their favourite theatre of old favourites and also plenty of previously unrecorded material. The CD has 15 of the tracks while the DVD has all 27 tracks on it. The recording truly captures the Possums at their best playing live to an enthusiastic audience. They will be releasing their 4th CD featuring mainly original material in early 2011. This latest recording will showcase a maturing approach to song writing and how the band is redefining their style.

The Johnny Possum Band has played extensively throughout New Zealand and gained international exposure with two mini tours of the USA. The first in 2007 saw them receive the ‘Rising Legends’ Award from the National Old Time Country and Bluegrass Association. Their 2nd visit in 2008 received rave reviews and a growing fan base as they toured the heartland of this musical style following the Appalachian Mountains and travelling through Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. The band will be touring again in 2011