Johnny A. understands that an artist needs to keep growing and shifting up the show to keep his audience on its toes. When GP Presents was on site at Yoshi’s in Oakland at the outset of 2025, he wowed a capacity crowd with his expert solo looping performance. He went so far down that rabbit hole that we wound up doing a feature interview about it.
When Johnny A. comes back to the Bay at the outset of 2026, the show will be totally different. He’ll bring a pair of aces up from Southern California: Evan Coniglio (Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach) on bass, and Vancil Cooper (Hamilton, Queen Latifa) on drums. They’ll help Yoshi’s kick off the New Year with a highly anticipated set on the first Wednesday in 2026.
Johnny changed from playing a signature Gibson to a Fender a few years back, and he confirms that element of his show remains the same, saying, “I’ll be playing my signature Strat.”
The material on tap is “a mix of a lot of classic-style blues rock, with a few of my instrumentals thrown in,” Johnny says. “Not as much chord/melody stuff on this run.”
Interestingly, that’s the stuff that originally put him on the map as a solo artist. Johnny is perhaps the last cat to have a bona fide instrumental guitar hit at terrestrial radio. “Oh Yeah” came out around the millennium flip when he stepped out from his role as music director with Peter Wolf (J. Geils Band) and released his acclaimed debut, Sometime Tuesday Morning.
After a string of successful solo albums, Johnny joined the legendary Yardbirds, where he manned the lead guitar spot once held by Jeff Beck.
Since Jeff’s passing on January 10, 2023, Johnny has been leading a tribute dubbed Beck-Ola, and these days he largely plays instrumentals with a whammy-infused, vocal type of melodic approach. He’s also doing some singing. Johnny used to tour the West Coast regularly with a trio, but it’s been a long time, so we’re thrilled to help facilitate that happening again.
If you’re planning to be in the San Francisco Bay Area at the outset of 2026, please come see Johnny A. at this special trio show presented by GP. We’ll have free Martin strings for players at the table in the lobby.
The best way to show support and get great seats is by snatching up advance tickets right now.
WIN TICKETS!
For a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Johnny A. in Oakland, California, on Wednesday, January 7, send an email to gp@jimmyleslie.com and put “Johnny A.” in the subject line. Include a sentence about yourself and why you want to go. Phone contact greatly appreciated for confirmation.
Winner must provide their own transportation to Yoshi’s in Oakland, California, and have their own accommodations in the Bay Area. Best of luck!
EVENT DETAILS
GP Presents Johnny A
Wednesday, January 7
Yoshi’s
Jack London Square, Oakland, California
7 p.m. doors; 8 p.m. show
We'll be handing out free packs of Martin strings
