Johnnyswim

Centered around the creative partnership of husband-and-wife duo Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano (daughter of disco and R&B legend Donna Summer), Johnnyswim emerged in the early 2010s with a slick amalgam of folk, pop, R&B, and Americana. A series of singles and EPs paved the way for their 2014 debut album and they continued to build a broad audience through frequent touring and follow-up releases like 2016′s soulful Georgica Pond and 2019′s Moonlight. The duo also starred in the 2021 reality series Home on the Road which followed them on tour. Johnnyswim’s eponymous fourth album saw release in 2022.
Ramirez and Sudano met in Nashville in 2005, instituting a songwriting partnership not long afterward. They clicked both musically and personally, beginning a romantic relationship along with their creative connection. Recording under the name Johnnyswim, they released their debut EP, 1-4, in 2008. Solidifying their union, Ramirez and Sudano married in 2009 and relocated to Los Angeles.
A second EP, 5-8, appeared in 2010, supported by tours along with residencies in New York and Los Angeles. Home, Vol. 1, a third EP that emphasized their country roots, arrived in 2012. By this point they’d started getting attention from fashion quarters, including icons Tommy Hilfiger and Louis Vuitton, which in turn attracted the interest of record labels. Soon, Johnnyswim signed with the Sony-affiliated Big Picnic imprint, and further expanded their reach with appearances on TV shows ranging from VH1′s Mob Wives to NBC’s Tonight Show. The duo finally made their full-length debut with 2014′s Diamonds, a collection of broadly emotional songs that landed squarely in the sweet spot between pop, folk, and soul. The album’s lead single, “Home,” gained further exposure when it was used as the theme song for the HGTV show Fixer Upper.
A Christmas collection and live album followed, with their sophomore set arriving in 2016. The similarly nuanced Georgica Pond featured the single “Drunks,” a guest appearance by Vince Gill, and a cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” The pair followed with the Goodbye Road EP, a collaboration with the like-minded Nashville group Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors. The set included the single “Ring the Bells,” as well as guest vocals from another duo, Penny & Sparrow. Johnnyswim’s third LP, Moonlight, was issued in 2019, this time via Brittania Row/BMG. Previously, Ramirez had acted as producer on all of Johnnyswim’s releases, but this time the duo ceded production duties to Grammy Award-winner Malay (Frank Ocean, Sam Smith). The album included single “Bridges” and “The Last Time” featuring Michael McDonald.
Reestablishing their relationship with the creators of Fixer Upper, Ramirez and Sudano became the subjects of the reality series Home on the Road, which followed the duo and their children during Johnnyswim’s tour of North America. The series premiered in 2021. Johnnyswim’s self-titled fourth album followed a year later. ~ Steve Leggett & Timothy Monger