Jo D’Anna (2018 program)

Born and raised in Palo Alto, Jo D’Anna is a native Bay Area songwriter who writes in a heartfelt, story-telling classic folk-pop style. She uses a signature fingerstyle/strum guitar technique, which she originally learned from Palo Alto musician icons–Jerry Garcia at Dana Morgan Music in Palo Alto, and later Carol McComb of Gryphon Stringed Instruments–and then adapted to her own songwriting style. She originally developed her uniquely warm and clear vocal style by listening to the early records of Joan Baez (another Palo Alto folksinger icon) back in the early 60s. She has been an award-winning member of West Coast Songwriters since 1990 and has been performing in and around the greater Bay Area since 1993 (in coffee houses, local folk festivals, art galleries; house concerts, songwriter showcases, local farmers’ markets, and the Bay Area’s best acoustic listening rooms, i.e, the Freight & Salvage and Monkey House in Berkeley). Jo’s songwriting influences are primarily Kate Wolf, Joni Mitchell and others–mostly the evocative folk-rock songwriter icons of the late 60s and early 70s, especially the Laurel Canyon songwriters. Since 1995, Jo has independently released two CDs, “Alouwenja” and “As She Is”.

www.jodanna.com