Get to Meet the Owner and Founder John Manion

John Manion

“Thinking music for the drinking man.” “Smart Pop.” “Folk Broadway.” Call it what you will—singer-songwriter John Manion has spent more than four decades making music that refuses to fit neatly into a genre.A New Jersey native, Manion spent 20 formative years in Nashville, arriving in 1981 in a $100 Ford Galaxy 500 he called Old Dependable. There he immersed himself in the songwriter clubs, made the rounds on Music Row, and bonded with kindred souls in a creative community that helped shape his eclectic, story-driven approach to songwriting.

Over the years, Manion has released a series of independent projects, including The Total Picture, I Am A Wave, Little Movies, Big Lessons, Fireworks In The Rain, Three Dollar Thrill, Detours and Scars, The Songs Along the Way, and The Edge of Yesterday. His songs move freely between pop, folk, rock, jazz, theater, humor, and urban storytelling.After relocating to New York in 2002 and stepping away from music for a corporate career, songwriting eventually returned as what Manion calls a “means of self-defense” against quotas, deadlines, and everyday life. His songs became observations on New York, relationships, aging, culture, business, and the absurdities of modern life.

Today, Manion continues to write, record, and perform. His latest creative venture, Frederick Flies the Coop, grows out of his 2012 song “If I Were A Pigeon” and is currently in development, alongside a new collection of new songs targeted for a release in 2027.After 45 years, John Manion still doesn’t fit neatly into a category—and he’s perfectly comfortable with that.