MICHAEL
LOUIS
JOHNSON
Entertainer
I sing, I play trumpet, I write songs. I do some acting. Over the last four decades I’ve written some plays, made some movies and music videos. I’ve travelled the world playing music in small clubs, theatres and giant festivals. Currently I perform solo or with my jazz quintet, Red Rhythm, my brass band, Rambunctious, or our gang of Balkan Klezmer Party Punks, Lemon Bucket Orkestra. But mostly I’m known for tending bar at a tiny joint in Toronto called the Communist’s Daughter. I also have a reputation as a bit of an instigator.
Half Moon, half crazy
Tunes & Tales by Michael Louis Johnson
Reviews
“…a truly memorable evening,….I left as both a fan and a friend”
Galen Simmons - Northern Arts Perspective
click here for tickets
Death of a salesman
Reviews
“Powerful and heartbreaking”
Lauren Gienow - Broadway World
“Every note, achey and tender.”
Daphne Gordon - Stratfordtoday.ca
“….hits most of the right notes in its indictment of the American dream – though the best ones are blared from the bell of Johnson’s weathered trumpet, the bluesy melody an albatross in the Lomans’ creaking kitchen.”
Aisling Murphy - Globe and Mail
“….He delivers one of the best Land Acknowledgements I’ve heard in the theatre and one of the most compelling admonitions for audience member to silence all devices..”
Christopher Hoile - Stage Door
From February to October, 2026, I’ll be at the Stratford Festival working on Death of A Salesman. I’m creating and performing a score for solo trumpet and I’m also playing the role of Stanley, the waiter, (naturally). I also have a small ensemble role in Othello. It’s my first time doing Shakespeare. Boots and swords and wigs!!!
Starting July 9, I will be hosting a series of Thursday House Concerts at my Stratford residence. Half Moon, Half Crazy: an evening of tunes & tales by Michael Louis Johnson, with Jack Wyndham on piano.
more on that show here
