Mallory Johnson has always known what she wanted; it was just a matter of when she would achieve it. When asked if there was a moment where she realized she wanted to become a musician, the Newfoundland native can’t place a pinpoint on her timeline. “I don’t think there was ever a moment where I didn’t know,” she says confidently. “It’s just always been a sure thing.”
Having grown up around a musical family (“it’s hard to find an aunt, uncle, or cousin who doesn’t play an instrument”), Johnson absorbed the music of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn in her household. By 11, she’d co-written her first song with her family band, The Cormiers,.
And her resumé only grew from there: she was the youngest person ever to perform the national anthem at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, she toured around the world with The Cormiers, and was crowned the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Spotlight Performance winner in 2017.
As with many other country artists and songwriters, Johnson knew what her goal was: to move to Nashville and work alongside the genre’s biggest names. After a brief move to Toronto, Johnson relocated to the U.S. “Nashville is a bigger pond,” she says, comparing her new base to her Canadian East Coast home. “The writers are there, the publishing houses are there, the labels are there. It’s not a matter of if the right person hears you, it’s more a matter of when.”
And the opportunities did come. She’s opened shows for Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Last year, she released her debut, eponymous EP, which was packed with rollicking guitar solos, heartfelt storytelling, and catchy melodies – all supporting Johnson’s voice, a controlled, fierce, and empathetic instrument at the heart of each track.
With more new music on its way this fall, Johnson has proven that the right people she alluded to have heard her music in Nashville. Now, the rest of the world can, too.