Johnnyswim at the Bowery Ballroom

Abner Ramirez trained as a musician at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in his native Jacksonville, Florida. Amanda Sudano spent summers touring the world as a backing singer for her mother, Donna Summer. Ramirez and Sudano met in a coffee shop after Sunday service at a church in Nashville, Tennessee. Four years later Sudano attended a songwriting workshop held by Ramirez and became interested in writing songs with him. The two began writing and singing together and discovered similar influences of folk, soul, and rock. The pair formed a songwriting partnership in 2006 and called themselves Johnnyswim. Following three earlier EPs, Johnnyswim's debut album, Diamonds, was released on April 29, 2014. Sudano and Ramirez married in 2009 and are based in Los Angeles, California.

Who does not respond favorably to a bit of southern charm and elegance? Johnnyswim's headlining engagement tonight at the Bowery Ballroom was packed with an exuberant cordiality, a magnetic positivity and an engaging wholesomeness. Johnnyswim's set was hinged on rich, mesmerizing two-part harmonies and unadorned, low-key musical arrangements, much like the Civil Wars. Often staring each other in the eyes, Ramirez and Sudano were so in sync with each other that sometimes it was tasking to tell their voices apart. With Ramirez strumming an acoustic guitar and backed by an electric guitarist, bassist and drummer, the songs mined folk, soul, blues and pop for a lily-soft, blended sound, even when they took a turn at foot-stomping and hand-clapping country towards the end of the set with "Home." Ramirez and Sudano invited the audience both into their music and their lives. The duo introduced many songs with personal anecdotes, always related with an amusing spin; the story about Ramirez's proposal was longer than the song it produced, "Paris in June." With a knack for feel-good songs, mutually-enhancing vocals, a cross-section of musical styles and enjoyable banter, Johnnyswim's performance was almost like a variety show. Could Johnnyswim become the next generation's Sonny & Cher?

Visit Johnnyswim at www.johnnyswim.com.