Queen of the Slide: How Joanna Connor Took Me to Church with a Strat and a Roar
I’ll never forget the moment I stumbled across Joanna Connor on YouTube. It was one of those viral videos—she was at Kingston Mines in Chicago, wearing jeans and a tank top, plugged into a Strat, absolutely tearing the roof off the joint with a slide solo that made my jaw hit the floor.
It wasn’t delicate. It wasn’t pretty. It was raw, soulful, dirty—and holy hell, it was powerful.
I sat there thinking: “Where has she been all my life?”
Turns out she’d been in Chicago’s blues trenches all along, owning the stage, while the rest of the world was just catching up.
A Blues Woman in the City of Kings
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Massachusetts, Joanna Connor moved to Chicago in the mid-’80s to chase the blues—and she didn’t just find it. She owned it.
She played the clubs, backed up legends like James Cotton, Junior Wells, and Luther Allison, and slowly carved out a name for herself—not just as a guitarist, but as a force of nature.
Chicago blues has always had its royalty—Muddy, Buddy, Koko—but Joanna? She’s the undisputed Queen of Slide in the Windy City.
The Sound: Slide Guitar That Smokes and Soars
Let’s be real: there are great slide players out there. And then there’s Joanna Connor.
Her slide work is ferocious, rooted in Delta blues, but charged with rock energy, funk rhythm, and soul fire. She doesn’t just play slide guitar—she weaponizes it. She’ll hit a note that’ll make your spine tingle, then tear into a solo that sounds like the guitar’s about to catch fire.
Her vocals are just as fierce—gritty, heartfelt, and commanding. Whether she’s belting out a roadhouse shuffle or slowing it down for a sultry ballad, you feel every note she sings and plays.
Albums That Brought the Heat
Joanna’s discography is one wild, blues-soaked ride. If you want to dive in, here are the records that hooked me hard:
- 🎸 Believe It! (1990) – Her debut. Raw, high-energy, and full of promise.
- 💥 Fight (1992) – Heavy blues with punch. She’s clearly finding her voice here—and it’s a powerful one.
- 🔥 Six String Stories (2016) – Emotional, confident, and rooted in soul. Her storytelling really shines.
- 🎶 Rise (2019) – A genre-blending record that shows she can do blues, funk, rock, and even hip-hop-inflected grooves. She doesn’t hold back.
- ⚡ 4801 South Indiana Avenue (2021) – Produced by Joe Bonamassa. It’s pure fire, her most focused, aggressive, and blues-pure record yet. An instant classic.
- 🎤 Best of Me (2023) – Deeply personal and groove-heavy, with monster tone and gutsy vocals.
Seeing Her Live: Blues with a Gut Punch
I haven’t seen her live—yet—but I’ve watched enough live sets to know this:
Joanna Connor doesn’t perform. She commands.
Whether it’s a smoky club or a big festival stage, she plays like she’s got something to prove—and nothing to lose. She’ll work that Strat like a preacher at a tent revival, shout out solos like war cries, then flash a grin like she knows exactly what she just did to your soul.
And if you’re lucky enough to catch her in Chicago? You’re not watching a show—you’re getting baptized in real-deal, full-throttle, unapologetic blues.
Why Joanna Connor Deserves Every Ounce of Praise
Joanna has spent decades grinding it out in a genre still too dominated by men, and she’s earned every ounce of respect the hard way—on stage, night after night.
She’s not about flash. She’s about feel. She doesn’t need to prove anything—but she still plays like she does. And that’s what makes her so damn compelling.
She’s living proof that the blues isn’t dead. It’s just been waiting for people like her to plug in and turn it up.
Where to Start If You’re New
Light the fuse:
- 🎧 4801 South Indiana Avenue – Straight-up blues power.
- 💿 Six String Stories – For soul and fire blended to perfection.
- 🔥 Best of Me – Her newest and most personal.
- 📺 YouTube: Search “Joanna Connor slide guitar live” or “Joanna Connor Joe Bonamassa” for face-melting proof of her power.
More at joannaconnor.com
Joanna Connor didn’t ask for permission. She plugged in, turned up, and let the slide do the talking. And every time I listen to her now, I remember: blues doesn’t belong in a museum. It belongs on a hot stage, played loud and dirty by someone with something to say—and the soul to back it up. 🎸🔥👑
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