ABOUT

Jonathan Danis is a twenty-five year old musician based in Nashville, Tennessee, originally from the small town of West Newbury, Massachusetts. In spring of 2021 he graduated from the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia with a double major in music and biology. Jonathan began music at two years of age, and since has developed into a multi-instrumentalist and renown pianist. Jonathan is an improvisatory musician, and combines influences from several genres, including jazz, blues, rock, and folk into his playing style. He draws from the unique artistry of pianists like Bill Evans, Elton John, and George Winston to generate a product that captivates an audience with feelings of joy and contemplation. His piano creates a soothing and exciting atmosphere, perfect as background music in a cocktail lounge. From age five to eleven, Jonathan was taught in a classical piano setting, but by the fifth grade he ceased formal training and became self taught throughout the key years of his musical development. At the age of fourteen, Jonathan became the house pianist at Brown Sugar by the Sea, a restaurant in Newburyport, MA, where he performed several nights a week. Throughout high school he managed his own solo piano business, performing regularly at local cafes, private events, and the Harvard Club of Boston. 

In the sixth grade, Jonathan was invited to join his older brother’s band, Voquel Kemistry. The group needed a bass player. Honored by the invitation to join musicians four years older than him, Jonathan quickly learned the bass and played in a live concert three days later. For the next ten years, Jonathan became a central figure in this group that eventually produced two albums of original music. Jonathan composed piano, guitar, and bass parts for the band and was one of the main audio engineers for the group, using ProTools to record and mix the tracks. 

At the University of Virginia, Jonathan was a member of several student rock groups that regularly performed at venues all across the state of Virginia, including parties, bars and the Jefferson Theater in downtown Charlottesville. With these groups, Jonathan opened for nationally known bands including The Futurebirds and The Vegabonds. Jonathan’s most recent group, Backseat Driver, tore up the Charlottesville music scene post-pandemic, performing multiple nights a week throughout the area. During the four years of his undergraduate studies, Jonathan sat as the pianist in university jazz combo groups, fine tuning his jazz chops and expanding his repertoire.

Jonathan is currently based in Nashville, TN, and has torn up the music scene since moving there in January of 2022. He has played consistently with several rock groups and a solo act, but his most notable project has been his role as the lead pianist in Hippies & Cowboys, a rock and roll band that combines the sounds of southern blues rock and Motown. With this group Jonathan has achieved a plethora of success, including playing Pilgrimage Music Festival in Franklin, TN, opening up for The Black Crowes, Zach Bryan, and The Lumineers. In Nashville, Hippies & Cowboys sits as the house band at Kid Rock’s Bar on the Main Stage. With Hippies & Cowboys, Jonathan has performed and worked with Kid Rock, Steve Cropper, and members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bon Jovi, Journey, Lit and many more music giants in the Nashville area. Jonathan continues his music education at Berklee College of Music, and will continue to play piano as long as his fingers will allow him.