B. JOHN BURNS, Songwriter (Des Moines music)
from deep in the heart of Johnston, Iowa...
In the fall of 1972, during my junior year of high school, I sat down at the Cable-Nelson piano in the basement of my parents' house and laboriously penned my first song, "Last Airport Home." A few days later, I wrote another, and then another -- and then another. . .
I never stopped.
Then, in January, 1976 I played a borrowed Wurlitzer electric piano at the Wakonda Country Club on Des Moines' South Side with a band called Now and Then. That was my first professional gig. On Halloween Night of that year, I got a call from the legendary Baby Lester in Omaha, beckoning me to join him on the road as a member of Baby Lester and the Buggybumpers. I followed him to Odebolt, Iowa, Independence, Missouri (twice), Fayetteville, Arkansas, Worthington, Minnesota, Albuquerque, Abilene, Atchison, Kansas, Buffalo, Wyoming, Tiffin, Ohio, Pierre, South Dakota, Indianapolis, Wilkesboro, North Carolina, Green Lake, Wisconsin, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Humboldt, Iowa and, yes, Kokomo. I'd like to say I never stopped playing.
Okay, there were a few stops and starts from time to time -- but I'm playing NOW!!
And, yes, I am the brother of marathon champion Mary Burns-Prine, owner of the Women Runners Website and author of The 2008 Women Runners' DAILY JOURNAL & CALENDAR. But I'm determined to make it on the quality of my songwriting, rather than my sister's celebrity, so I pretty much try to keep it a secret. How's that, Mary?
BUY MY CD!!
To order a copy of my CD, "Ridiculously High," send a check or money order for $10 ($9.43 plus .57 tax -- free shipping on all orders over $5) to
B. John Burns
P.O. Box 30035
Johnston, IA 50131
You may also order copies of "Year of the Jumping Flea". "Up Here on the 19th Floor" and "High Adventure on the Road" at the same price from the same location!!
Check this site often for exciting news about upcoming shows!!
Click here to find out a little more about John Burns, songwriter.
Visit my photo galleries to see some of the people I've worked with over the past thirty-some years. Find posters of my upcoming performances. Read my nostalgic accounts of some of my great music business adventures, including the stories about the infamous bad review, some of the more positive publicity I've received, strangers on a train, a little night music, and performing at the 2006 through 2011 IMT Des Moines Marathons.
Check out the list of songs played at my performance, and listen to my home-grown demos of about a dozen or so of them.
SOME OF THE PLACES I'VE PERFORMED MY SOLO ACT
Amici Espresso
The Village Bean Coffee Co.
Cafe Milo
Being There Coffee House (Altoona)
Crave Italian American
Ritual Cafe
Grounds for Celebration (Beaverdale)
House of Bricks (Songwriters' Night)
CoffeeCat (Mason City)
Linden Street Coffee House (Lamoni)
Lot 33
El Bait Shop
The GrapeVine
The Game Sports Bar
Rehab Bar and Grill
Okobji Grill (Johnston)
Flanagan's Bar and Grill
The Royal Mile
Woody's Smoke Shack
The Greenwood Lounge
Mojo's at River Music Experience (Davenport)
ArtsCentral (Waukee)
Uptown Bill's Coffee House (Iowa City)
Des Moines Farmers Market
The Brew (Manchester, Tennessee)
The Java House (Iowa City)
Tally's Restaurant, Lounge and Catering
Prairie City Farmers Market
Grafton 123 House of Coffee (Grafton, West Virginia)
Windsor Heights Community and Events Center
Ruby's Pub (Stuart)
Bayside Community Center (San Diego -- Fundraiser)
Art on the Prairie (Perry)
Hotel Vetro (Iowa City -- Fundraiser)
The Vaudeville Mews
Neutral Ground Coffee House (New Orleans)
Northland Galleries (Art Shows)
Picasso Coffee House (St. Charles, Missouri)
Natural Living Expo
Friday Night Live (Mason City)
The Keg Stand
333 Restaurant (Grenada, Mississippi)
Smokey Row Coffee House and Ice Cream (Des Moines)
Smokey Row Coffee House and Ice Cream (Pella)
Java Monkey (Decatur, Georgia)
Undergrounded (Clarion, Iowa)
Kirkwood Hotel Lobby/Art Show
Scornavacca's Restaurant (Private Party)
C & D's Welcome Cafe (Redondo Beach, CA)
Illegal Grounds (Denver)
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe (Washington, DC)
Savvy Coffee and WIne Bar (Solon)
Java G's (Clive)
The Alley Upstairs at Cafe Allegro (Seattle)
Pegasus Coffee House and Gallery (Bainbridge Island, WA)
C & P Coffee Company (West Seattle)
Mars Cafe
Starry Night Coffee House (Johnston)
Java Joe's
Linda Vista Multicultural Fair (San Diego)
Cafe Diem (Ankeny)
Cafe Diem (Ames)
The Iowa State Fair
Black Sheep Coffee Cafe (South St. Paul, MN)
Harvest Moon (Dallas Center)
Grounds for Celebration (Urbandale)
Aura (private party)
Capital Square Atrium
Gordon's Food Products, Des Moines, IA (private party)
Gateway West/Art Show
Marshalltown Coliseum (Unity Unplugged)
Memories Hall, Marshalltown (Unity Unplugged II)
The Des Moines Playhouse
The Foxboro Grill
Sylvan Amphitheater, Greenwood Park (Dickstock)
The Beaverdale Fall Festival
Hoyt Sherman Auditorium
Crystal Tree Restaurant (private reception)
Embassy Club (private reception)
Des Moines Marathon
Drake Half-Marathon
Friedrich's World Coffees (Urbandale)
The Regatta Inn (Clear Lake)
Upcoming Performance(s)
Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 5 to 8 p.m., Woody's Smoke Shack, 2511 Cottage Grove Avenue, Des Moines, IA, no cover.
Saturday, June 29, 2013, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Lot 33, 3701 Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines, IA, no cover.
Saturday, July 6, 2013, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Grounds for Celebration, 2709 Beaver Ave., Des Moines, IA, no cover
Saturday, July 13, 2013, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Lot 33, 3701 Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines, IA, no cover.
Saturday, July 20, 2013, 7:30 to 9:30, Friedrich's World Coffees, 4632 N.W. 86th Street, Urbandale, IA, no cover.
Friday, July 26, 2013, 7 to 9 p.m., Linden Street Coffee House, 104 South Linden Street, Lamoni, IA, no cover.
Saturday, August 3, 2013, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Grounds for Celebration, 2709 Beaver Ave., Des Moines, IA, no cover
Saturday, August 10, 2013, 7 a.m. to noon, Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, 4th Street just south of Walnut, Des Moines, IA, no cover.
Thursday, August 15, 2013, 10 a.m., Fairview Stage (formerly A & E Stage), Iowa State Fair, Des Moines, IA.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013, 5 to 8 p.m., Woody's Smoke Shack, 2511 Cottage Grove Avenue, Des Moines, IA, no cover.
Saturday, August 31, 2013, 10 a.m. to noon, CoffeeCat, 111 South Delaware Avenue, Mason City, IA, no cover.
Saturday, September 14, 2013, 1 to 4 p.m., Grounds for Celebration, 2709 Beaver Ave., Des Moines, IA, no cover
Wednesday, September 18, 2013, 5 to 8 p.m., Woody's Smoke Shack, 2511 Cottage Grove Avenue, Des Moines, IA, no cover.
Sunday, October 20, 2013, 8 to noon, IMT Des Moines Marathon (I perform in front of Butler House across from the Art Center on Grand Ave), Des Moines, IA, no cover.
Saturday, October 26, 2013, 7 a.m. to noon, Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, 4th Street just south of Walnut, Des Moines, IA, no cover.
Saturday, November 9, 2013, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Art on the Prairie 2013, Art and Music in venues throughout downtown Perry, Iowa on Saturday and Sunday, November 10, 2013. John plays three shows in three locations.
"Mt. Helix", written by John Burns on the then-brand new Korg Triton
Send me an email!!
If YOU want to receive email announcements about my upcoming performances, send me your email address!! Leave a note in my guest book, so I can see who's been visiting my site.
You can now visit me on Facebook and check out my Electronic Press Kit!!
And I'm available to play at YOUR event or venue at a price affordable to ANY budget!!
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