John is a songwriter, composer, performer and producer based in Blacksburg, VA, USA. He can be seen throughout the region as a soloist as well as with Talk2Me, Hildreth-Mills and Taco Cat, and collaborates with artists and producers around the country.

John Hildreth's music is all at once intimate and expansive, sophisticated and simple, inspiring and unique. The Blacksburg, VA-based songwriter and instrumentalist is equally at home on multiple instruments as he weaves stories about wild places, sentient creatures, faraway worlds, ghosts and the liminal spaces of the heart. His deep-tissue guitar work evokes the shimmering harmonies and percussive grooves of the late, great Michael Hedges, while his piano pop brings to mind the rich harmonies of Bruce Hornsby and the storytelling finesse of Joni Mitchell. His latest release, 'Second Planet,' is available on all major streaming platforms.

As a child, John studied piano and organ at the Kleemeier School of Music in Cincinnati, OH. He began playing rock, classical and jazz guitar in high school with instructors Mark Schulte and Martin Lockhart. John later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music (composition and guitar) from Western Kentucky University; he studied guitar with David Kelsey and Sharon Law, as well as composition and theory with Drs. Charles Smith and Michael Kallstrom. John earned a Master of Arts in Music (technology and education) from Radford University, studying guitar with Dr. Robert Trent, musicology with Dr. George Parish, and composition with Dr. Bruce Mahin.

His compositions and arrangements have been performed in the U.S., Canada and Europe, and he’s had master classes with Lily Afshar, Nikita Koshkin, Karel Husa, Jean Berger, Mark Applebaum, Jamey Abersold and Stanley Yates. After spending the mid-late 1990s in Nashville, TN, he was a founding member of the powerhouse dance band Dot Dot Dash (2002-2013) in southwest VA, touring and releasing two albums with them. He has since produced several solo albums, and performed session work and commissions for a variety of clients including Lynda.com, Horse Archer Productions, The Continental Divide Trail Coalition, CITL Films and RJB Production.