JC Smith

Guitarist and vocalist JC Smith is a Beloved Bay Area bluesman whose guitar work channels masters like T-Bone Walker, Albert King and Johnnie Guitar Watson with energy and charisma that captivates audiences worldwide.

Smith won the 2024 Bay Area Black Music Awards Male Blues Performer of the Year and the 2024 Bay Area Jazz and Blues Artist Lifetime Achievement Award. His album Defining Cool was listed for the 52nd Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Blues CD and climbed to #25 on the Roots Report. He has toured throughout the United States, Eastern Europe, Mexico, South America and Russia, sharing stages with BB King, Buddy Guy and Hubert Sumlin. Also an actor, Smith appeared in Ranger (2024) and When Death Comes Knocking (2023). As radio personality Johnnie Cozmik on KKUP FM, his goal remains simple: keep the blues alive and take the message to the people.