Since releasing Believe It! in 1989, Chicago-based guitarist and singer/songwriter Joanna Connor has revealed herself as a virtuoso in modern electric blues, R&B, and blues-rock. Her take-no-prisoners playing style joins fiery single-string runs to dazzling, rough-and-ready slide pyrotechnics and deeply soulful grooves, she is also an accomplished songwriter. 1996's Big Girl Blues drew accolades for its raw, house-rocking approach. Connor is well-versed in the genre's long history, as revealed on 1998's Slidetime. 2002's Joanna Connor Band moved toward bluesy funk. After 2003's Mercury Blues, she took a 12-year break from recording to raise her children. In 2016 Connor returned with the globally acclaimed Six String Stories. The funky, horn-drenched soul-blues of Rise followed in 2019. In early 2021 she issued the Joe Bonamassa-produced 4801 South Indiana Avenue, and in 2023 followed with Best of Me for Mike Zito's Gulf Coast Records.