At the age of 13, Wade Johnston picked up his dad’s Taylor 710 guitar and started to learn how to play. Although its dreadnaught size was a bit too large for him, it didn’t stop him from getting to know its ebony fret board. Years later, Wade’s music performance career officially began at his high school talent show in 2006, with the release of his debut single, “Goodbye” on which he collaborated with friends Jimmy Clepper and Thomas Lawrence. Wade, Jim, and Thomas played together for a while, including the 2007 Jam for Justice, improving Wade’s already blossoming guitar skills. He continued to improve his voice with training from professional teachers, earning him starring roles in his high school musicals; he played The Prince in Cinderella as well as J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
During the summer of 2007, Wade, Jim, and Thomas went their separate ways, resulting in the dawn of Wade’s solo career. At the next annual talent show in January of 2008, he released his second single, “Jane.” This time, he displayed his musical talent for a variety of instruments by adding in Bob Dylan-esque harmonica to his acoustic guitar. That was only the start of Wade’s multi-instrumental exploration. It wasn’t until that spring that Wade took an interest in the ukulele and his musical future began to unfold. The whimsical, simplistic, island-like tunes that came from his Applause soprano ukulele inspired him to do something he never imagined he’d do…
In the summer of 2008, all of his hard work started to pay off when he created his own YouTube channel. After posting a few original songs on guitar and ukulele, Wade opted to cover Julia Nunes’ song, “Regrets.” Lucky for Wade, the video response ended up catching Nunes’s attention. Soon after, in October, Wade was invited to perform at her side at the first ever YouTube Live in San Francisco, CA in a “Ukulele Orchestra” composed of several other YouTube ukulele players. While there, he finally got to meet Nunes, as well as several other prominent YouTube stars. Upon returning home, he released his first solo CD, “Jane—EP” and booked numerous coffeehouse shows, which began the next phase of his music career.
In the winter of 2008, Wade teamed up with long-time friends and talented musicians Dave and Andy McClellan, forming Wade Johnston and the Navigators. The band, with Andy on percussion and Dave on bass guitar, have been playing together since. In the upcoming year, Wade and the Navigators plan to release a six-track EP, “On The Run,” and indulge in other music endeavors. Their taste for acoustic allure, heavenly harmonies, and badass backbeats inspire them to keep writing and performing music.
