Joanna Connor was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 31, 1962, and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. In the early 1980s she moved to Chicago to chase the blues.
The Chicago Clubs
She got her start playing rhythm guitar with Dion Payton and shared stages with legends of the Chicago scene. In 1988 she formed her own band and began a long run at the Kingston Mines, where she has played well over a thousand nights. Her debut album, Believe It!, came out on Blind Pig Records in 1989, and her ferocious slide guitar soon made her one of the most talked-about players in the city.
A Career-Defining Album
After years of balancing music with raising her family, she returned to recording with Six String Stories (2016). In 2021 she released 4801 South Indiana Avenue, produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith. The title is the address of Theresa’s Lounge, the legendary South Side blues club, and the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s blues chart. She followed it with Best of Me in 2023.
Toronzo Cannon, pictured with her here, once played in her band as a sideman before building his own career.
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