Bozeman Magazine

A veteran of the Austin, TX music scene since 2001, Johnny Dango’s music is a confluence of country and rock, with a hefty sense of self-satire. His style ranges all of tornado alley, from the folksy roots of his Stillwater, Oklahoma birthplace, to the Tulsa Sound, to the cosmic cowboy culture of Austin. A former sideman for Red Dirt rocker Stoney LaRue and co-founder of Austin indie band Brothers and Sisters, Dango has shared the stage playing his own songs with greats like Wayne Kramer of MC5, Jerry Jeff Walker, Alejandro Escovedo, Billy Joe Shaver, John Fullbright, and Charlie & Will Sexton. He’s been touring relentlessly, logging over 35,000 miles in 2017 alone. From afar it's easy to see the path Dango has blazed as a journalistic songwriter, able to capture the energy --as well as the ennui —of living in our time. With everything from nuclear annihilation to the music industry in question, Dango is our man in the streets reporting back. His songs fight the gravity of responsibility with humor, lively riffs, and an editorial style of writing. By placing himself squarely at the center of his stories, he's captured the common man in uncommon times. It's an American realism that does not disappoint.