Lara Johnston will be the opening act for The Doobie Brothers’ Monday, Oct. 27 concert at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton.
Johnston is a singer-songwriter whose powerful voice, dynamic stage presence, and catchy, soulful pop songs have captivated worldwide music audiences. She has toured extensively, both as a solo artist and as a backing vocalist for artists like Don Henley and Belinda Carlisle. She has shared the bill or performed with Luke Bryan, Willie Nelson, Sammy Hagar, Buddy Guy, Huey Lewis and the News, Journey, Heart, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Miller, rapper J. Dash, and many others. Lara duetted with America's Got Talent winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. on The Wendy Williams Show and the Piers Morgan Tonight Christmas Special on CNN.
In September 2012, Lara was selected from over 7,500 competitors as the first Grand Prize Winner of the Unsigned Only Competition for her song, K.I.S.S. Lara's songs K.I.S.S. and Here At The End Of The World were chosen from over 20,000 entries as finalists in the famed International Songwriting Competition. K.I.S.S. went on to win first place in the Adult Contemporary division. Lara ventured to Austin, Texas, to play four shows during the city's legendary SXSW music festival. Lara has been featured on the home page of ReverbNation, several times, as a featured Artist of the Week.
While pursuing her career, Lara also studied her craft at USC’s Thornton School of Music, where she recently graduated in the inaugural class of the Popular Music Program. Since then, she’s been touring and writing non-stop, with an October residency at legendary rock club The Bitter End in New York City. Noteworthy November gigs included singing at the Dylan Fest and a performance at the Kennedy Center as part of the American Voices festival. This January, Lara performed at several Sundance Film Festival events with Koffeehouse Music. And after spending the first quarter of 2014 crafting new songs, Lara signed with an independent record label in June.
Tickets for The Doobie Brothers are $49.50, $64.50 and $82. Tickets can be purchased at www.ValleyFirstTix.com by telephone at 1.877.SOEC.TIX (763.2849) or in person at the Valley First Box Office (at the SOEC) and Wine Country Visitor Centre.