When John-Robert left his Edinburg, VA, hometown (pop. 1,070) for LA in 2019, he did so with starry-eyed ambition – bypassing a Berklee scholarship to chase his own musical manifest destiny. Grammy-nominated producer Ricky Reed (Leon Bridges, Lizzo) signed him at age 19 to Nice Life/Warner, helping integrate John-Robert’s lilting blend of traditional folk and Appalachian country into the modern pop landscape.