Folksinger Michael Johnathon Announces 20th Studio Album 'Garden Of Silence'

Folksinger Michael Johnathon completed his 20th studio album, Garden of Silence, due out March 24 via PoetMan Records USA. Johnathon composed ten of the eleven songs, produced and arranged all the music using his Martin guitar, his long neck banjo, textured string quartets, Gazebo horn sections, piano and more.

Garden of Silence starts with a song about the day Vincent van Gogh passed away and concludes with a tribute to folksingers everywhere. On the journey between those two musical bookends are songs about Henry David Thoreau ("Winter Song"), the spirit of the front porch ("Front Porch Symphony"), Narcissism ("Narcissistic Blues), dancing with your lover ("September Eve"), a tribute to Johnathon's musical hero Pete Seeger ("Seeger Mashup"), and the banjo-driven instrumental about the fragrant scent of earth following a rain fall ("Petrichor").

"Never before in the history of the world has the need to revisit the meaning and spirit of the front porch been so needed, and to me that's what this album is, Jonathan said. Garden of Silence is a deep dive into the music and art, the peace and power, the life and emotions of America's front porch."

Among the throngs of artists in the music world, few have elevated "dreaming" to such a high art form as Folksinger Michael Johnathon. He recently won the prestigious Milner Award of the Arts in 2020, presented by Governor Andy Beshear in Kentucky. The Painter, a tribute to Vincent van Gogh, is his 17th album release. Cosmic Banlo, released Winter 2022, is a celebration of the long neck banjo. His 19th album, AFTERBURN: Folk at Arena Level was released at the end of May 2022.

Michael is a touring songwriter, author of six published books (WoodSongs series), the screenwriter for the upcoming Caney Creek motion picture, playwright of the Walden Play performed in 42 countries, composer of the opera, Woody: For the People, organizer of the National Association of Front Porch Musicians called SongFarmers, the full symphony performances of SONGS OF RURAL AMERICA and as the creator and host of the live audience broadcast of the WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour with a radio audience of over two million listeners each week on 500 public radio stations, public television coast-to-coast, American Forces Radio Network in 173 nations and now on the RFD-TV Network nationwide. Johnathon also recently won the prestigious Kentucky Governor's Milner Award of the Arts in 2020.

Photo: WoodSongs/Larry Neuzel