Joanna Connor is an absolute
powerhouse on the Chicago scene, widely celebrated as the "Queen of
Slide Guitar" for her fierce, lightning-fast fretwork. Born in
Brooklyn and raised in Massachusetts, she fell in love with music early through
her mom’s killer record collection, picking up the guitar at age seven and
fronting local bands by 16.

Driven to dive
headfirst into real blues culture, she hopped a Greyhound bus to Chicago at age
22. She quickly made a name for herself jamming at legendary South Side spots
like the Checkerboard Lounge and shared stages with icons like Buddy Guy,
Junior Wells, and James Cotton. After a breakthrough stint with Dion
Payton’s band, she launched her own powerhouse group in 1987 and dropped her
praised debut album, Believe It!, in 1989.

She spent the '90s
touring the world but later scaled back to raise her kids, anchoring the
Chicago scene with legendary, multi-decade residencies at Kingston Mines
and the House of Blues. In 2014, a live video of her tearing it up went
viral, introducing her ferocious style to a new generation. This resurgence led
to her 2021 album, 4801 South Indiana Avenue (produced by Joe
Bonamassa), which shot straight to No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart.
Following that up with Best of Me in 2023, she is still out there
keeping the blues alive and loud.