With heavy hearst and joy, we come together to celebrate Johnny's life with his friends and collaborators from Birmingham, AL, Joel Nelson and Jasper Lee. Johnny's album will be released on the label Lobby Arts, whose founder Sam Wenc will be part of a sister event to this celebration in Brooklyn, NY. Joel (multi-instrumentalist and composer) and Jasper (recordist and co-founder of Sweet Wreath) worked closely with Johnny on multiple releases, including Mister Sweet Whisper, and supported the distribution of his late-career output.
Readings by Maudie Ainsworth and Brian Orozco

Johnny Coley (1950–2025) was a Birmingham, Alabama-born poet, artist, and performer active in the Southern underground scene since the 1970s. He collaborated with improvisers like Davey Williams and LaDonna Smith, becoming a beloved "unofficial poet laureate" of Birmingham’s experimental music community. His work blends surreal, Lynchian spoken-word poetry with Southern gothic imagery, humor, tenderness, and deep emotional resonance—often recorded from hospital bed as multiple sclerosis limited his mobility. As I Slip Into the Sky (Lobby Art Editions, Brooklyn, NY – cat. LA030) is his final work, recorded in early 2025 while bed-bound. Joel Nelson provides nearly all-electronic backdrops (Buchla Music Easel and analog synths), creating a tender, emotive soundscape reminiscent of Broadcast or early Oneohtrix Point Never. It explores love, family, loss, and reality in Johnny’s signature slippery, heartfelt style