Ileeana Johnson, 15, a local self-taught musician, not only plays her own music at open mic nights in the area, but also recently released her first single “Under the Weather” on iTunes.
Johnson, a Patriot High School sophomore, began playing music following piano lessons at age nine. She played at her first open mic in June of 2013 at @4410 in Haymarket, and recently decided to broaden her instrumental skills.
“After only being able to play the piano at open mics at @4410 and Deja Brew, a coffeehouse in Haymarket, I wanted to expand my knowledge of music and learn new instruments,” Johnson said, “I bought both my first ukulele and my first guitar in the winter of last year and taught myself both instruments.”
Through music, Johnson has been able to meet new people who have impacted her life.
“Music has helped me meet and interact with some of my best friends and people I now consider family. Through them, I’ve been opened up to all kinds of new experiences,” she said, “I also Jackie Stem, another local singer/songwriter, who helped me record my original songs.”
Johnson even uses her music to help make life for cancer patients.
“This past August, I played at The Cancer Outreach Foundation’s Annual ‘Music for Hope’ concert which helped raise thousands of dollars for cancer patients,” she said.
The next step for Johnson was to officially publish her music and she did just that by putting her first single on iTunes.
“I eventually put one of my most recent songs ‘Under the Weather’ on iTunes which felt like a huge, huge milestone for me. Being able to share my music with people is one of the best feelings and I can’t begin to describe it,” Johnson said.
Johnson has accomplished a lot in the year that she has been publicly playing her own music and she plans to continue.
“I’ve only really been open with my music for a year. It still feels surreal,” she said, “Music is what I want to do with my life.”
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