Delta Moon

Tom Gray and Mark Johnson first met in an Atlanta music store. When Tom tried to sell Mark a Dobro guitar out of the trunk of his car, the girl with Mark started whispering, “Let’s get out of here.” Mark didn’t buy the guitar, but he and Tom exchanged phone numbers. Soon the two were getting together regularly, Tom playing lap steel and Mark on bottleneck slide guitar.

At first, neither gave a thought to the idea of forming a double slide guitar band. Then Mark saw Ry Cooder and David Lindley perform together at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. “It was like a light came on over my head,” Mark said. “I thought, that’s what Tom and I do.” The two, along with singer Gina Leigh and a rotating cast of drummers and bassists, formed Delta Moon. Their idea was to weave the two slide guitars into one big sound, in the tradition of great two-guitar bands like the Rolling Stones, the Allman Brothers, and the early Fleetwood Mac.

Playing clubs and festivals around Atlanta and the South, the band quickly gathered a wall full of local “best” awards. After Delta Moon won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2003, the band widened its travel to include the western US, Canada, and Europe. Gina Leigh left the band in 2004. Kristin Markiton sang with the band for the next year and half, and then Delta Moon decided to continue as a quartet with Tom Gray writing and singing all the lyrics.

“I didn’t start out to sing lead in this band,” says Tom, “but like kudzu I’ve taken over.” Actually, he has plenty of experience fronting a band. In his pre-lap-steel days Tom was songwriter, vocalist, and keyboard player for a group called The Brains that recorded two albums on Mercury. His songs have been recorded by Cyndi Lauper, Manfred Mann, Carlene Carter and many other artists. As Mark says, “Delta Moon has found its voice.”

Originally from Arlington, Virginia, Tom Gray has written songs recorded by Cyndi Lauper (“Money Changes Everything”), Carlene Carter, Manfred Mann, and many other artists. Tom was the leader of the 1980s rock band The Brains and has since recorded and performed with a long list of vocalists and groups.

A dedicated and talented player who is relentless in his quest for tone, Mark Johnson moved south from Ohio and formed a band called The Rude Northerners, then worked with the Atlanta band The Crawdads before becoming a founding member of Delta Moon. Mark made up the band’s name after visiting Muddy Waters’ cabin near Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Images

Additional Resources

Watch Past Performances

1/29/09: Delta Moon

This duo made up of Tom Gray and Mark Johnson combines slide guitar skills, well-written songs, and whiskey-soaked vocals to deliver Atlanta blues.

Delta Moon

This duo made up of Tom Gray and Mark Johnson combines slide guitar skills, well-written songs, and whiskey-soaked vocals to deliver Atlanta blues.

Comment, rate, and more...

Performances

Search by Date

Annual Events

Search by Category

Visit these areas of our website:

Tickets

Buy a Ticket

Subscribe

Customer Help

Box Office

Contribute

Give Now

Support Us

Get Involved

Visit

The Kennedy Center

Area Information

The Venues

Area Map

Explore the Arts

Videos

Live Broadcasts

Interactives

Artists

Blogs

Education

Performances & Events

Arts & Schools

Career Development

VSA and Accessibility

Arts Management

About

A Living Memorial

Our People

Delta Moon

Images

Additional Resources

Watch Past Performances

Comments