With his retro-country feel and introspective lyricism, singer-songwriter John R. Miller is planning to deliver one of his signature intimate performances next week at the Jefferson Theater. Miller will be opening for Americana pioneer Robert Earl Keen Wednesday. Miller hails from the panhandle of West Virginia, but he has since moved to Nashville and expressed excitement about his heading back towards the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“I do love getting back east, and getting back home,” Miller said. “Charlottesville, Richmond, Harrisonburg, that whole area — I know a lot of people up there, and I have a lot of good friends from way back. So it's always pretty awesome to get to take a trip there.”
Taking the stage with long-time collaborator and fiddle player Chloe Edmonstone, Miller will be playing an approximately 40 minute set complete with songs from each of his six records along with newer material and a few potential covers.
Miller is known for his finger-picking tunes that tell universal stories of humanity through the lens of his own personal experiences. The combination of his rich, deep voice and twinkling guitar is the perfect vessel for his emotion-filled songs, from heartbreak to nostalgia to existentialism. The power of Miller’s work comes from its subtlety and understatedness, the vulnerability of his lyricism pulling listeners into his world.
At his shows, Miller balances the intimate quality of his studio recordings with the energy of a live performance. Miller said that when it comes to live sound, adaptation is necessary, meaning not every live song is a direct representation of its studio counterpart.
“I try to leave my expectations at the door and I pare down as simply as I can,” Miller said. “Everything's a variation. It's all kind of a living, breathing, dying thing.”
The element of improvisation combined with the vulnerability of Miller’s music is part of what allows him to connect deeply with his audience. When asked how it feels to perform something so personal to so many people, Miller said he learned to make peace with sharing that inner part of himself early on in his career.
“These days I have enough songs that aren't so grim that I can sort of pick and choose,” Miller said. “But if it seems like it’s be the kind of night where people are okay with being upset or something, I'll pull out the rough stuff.”
Part of that willingness to share very personal tracks with the world translates into Miller’s attitude towards musical collaboration. He has played with many different groups throughout his lifetime and often tours alongside Edmonstone or his full band The Engine Lights. When it comes to producing, he has worked with some impressive names including Justin Francis, a collaborator of Leon Bridges and Kacey Musgrave.
“You can second guess yourself all day long, but when you're in the room with others, there's a sort of a mutual accountability that happens that I find to be really focusing and helpful for seeing things through,” Miller said. “Collaboration has always been a hugely important part of trying to play and arrange music.”
One unique collaboration of Miller’s was with his old friend Tyler Childers, when they both lived in Huntington, West Virginia. Childers sang a cover of Miller’s song “Coming Down” on Lexington, KY’s Red Barn Radio and later released a record of some of those live songs from the radio performance — including “Coming Down.” The two performed a version of the song together at Red Rocks Amphitheater in 2021.
Miller songwriting draws from a breadth of influences as wide as his musical partnerships, from the books he reads to the music he listens to, including long-time influence John Prine and current favorite the Dire Straits. He describes himself as an obsessive music listener, always searching for the best of the old and the new. When it comes to his own work, Miller is constantly exploring and trying new things.
“I like a lot of different stuff. I try not to limit myself beyond what I'm actually able to do in the moment, as far as how I want to approach something,” Miller said.
Miller's openness in all aspects of his music welcomes listeners in, as does his approachable stage presence and down-to-earth nature. The Charlottesville show will be one of three he plays with the acclaimed Earl Keen, following stops in Oxford, Miss. and Knoxville, Tenn. Miller is no stranger at the Jefferson, having played there a few times over the years with local group the Hackensaw Boys.
As Miller makes his return to the Jefferson, audience members can expect a set that reaches into familiar dark corners while somehow managing to draw warmth and hope out of the most unexpected places inside us.
“Just your standard issue, existential dread kind of stuff,” Miller said.
Read More
How three local women saved the Violet Crown from demolition
By Alena Touve | 6 hours agoSince the Violet Crown’s opening in 2015, the theater was shown to have a different mission than the other commercial theaters in Charlottesville. That is, until threats of demolition came crashing down in the fall of 2024.
Arts & Entertainment Wrapped: Three writers’ picks for the best of 2025
By Bridget Baile , Amelia Lucien and Caroline Lee | 4 days agoFrom page to screen, sound to socials, three A&E writers sat down to share their superlative picks from the year in media.
Classic Christmas films soon to be screened at the Paramount Theater
By Benjamin Apostol | 4 days agoIn the coming weeks, audiences may experience a selection of vintage advent films in all their glory at the Paramount Theater’s ornate auditorium in the Downtown Mall.
