‘23 Westfield Grad, Making Name For Herself in Music, To Play On Square

By Betsy Reason

Tonight’s feature act at Stringtime on the Square’s Hamilton County Courthouse Concert has been singing her whole life.

As a youngster, Spenser Johns was obsessed with singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and would always karaoke her songs at home. She asked for a pink guitar and while it was difficult to find one, received one for her sixth birthday.

“Everything was a microphone for Spenser,” her mom Dawn Johns said. She used hairbrushes, remotes and phones.

At Westfield Middle School, Spenser played clarinet in sixth grade, then switched to percussion in seventh grade.

That school year, she performed her first open mic in Alley’s Alehouse at Pinheads in Fishers, singing along to karaoke tracks. “I dared her to do the open mic,” recalled her mom, who played euchre there on Thursdays, which was also Niko’s Open Mic night. “One night, she surprised me and went up. She was planning for the following week on the way home.”

Spenser, who taught herself the ukulele in seventh grade and then guitar in eighth grade, started writing songs and was invited to perform her first actual paid gig at Alley’s in eighth grade, in 2019, as opener for Open Mic night.

She auditioned her junior year at Westfield High School and received a callback for “The Voice.” But being that she was going into her senior year, “it was difficult to decide if that was a good choice,” her mom said. “She decided to stay focused on school.” Throughout her school career, she had all A’s.

This spring, she was winner of Noblesville Main Street’s 2023 Noblesville’s Got Talent and earned a spot on the Noblesville Street Dance Stage in July, and also won Carmelfest Has Talent on Independence Day weekend.

Tonight, the 2023 Westfield High School graduate, who simply goes by the stage name, “Spenser,” will be the feature act at 6:30 p.m. at Legacy Keepers Music’s StringTime on the Square free music series on the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

Her gigs consist of a wide range of songs, including a few originals, plus songs by Amy Winehouse, Brittany, Fleetwood Mac, Journey, Olivia Rodrigo, Eagles’ “Hotel California”, Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” Carly Simon, Gloria Gaynor, Conan Gray and Goo Goo Dolls. Tonight’s performance at Stringtime on the Square will be more country, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift songs.

Spenser’s parents, Dennis Johns played trumpet fifth grade through high school (Union County High School in Liberty, Ind.), and Dawn (Burch) Johns played flute for a super short time and then violin sixth through ninth grades. “She did not get any of the talent from us,” said Spenser’s mom, a 1989 Carmel High School graduate.” Spenser has two siblings, one who played trumpet in high school marching band.

When Spenser was younger, she went through Artistic Enterprises talent agency, and with her siblings were featured in various commercials, for Marsh, MCL Cafeteria, Community Hospital and others that weren’t as local. While in elementary school, she did a promo for Disney Singing and Storytelling Belle doll. “That one and the Marsh commercial were 12-hour shoots,” her mom said.

For a short period of time, before her freshman year, her family moved out of state, to Texas, where she became interested in theater (with a small role in “Mama Mia!”) and participated in her school’s talent show.

In 2020, during Covid, and when everybody in the nation went into quarantine, she started writing songs again with her guitar to pass the time. Then her family moved back to Indiana.

Spenser and her mom traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to see their friend, young singer/songwriter Sadie Fine, perform at the Listening Room Cafe. While there, they met the owners of Charlotte Avenue Entertainment, sent them Spenser’s music, and they liked her. “This led to them inviting me to record two of my original songs ‘Six Minutes in Georgia’ and ‘Burden’” at Omni Sound Studio in Nashville, Tenn.,” said Spenser, who also performed a gig at the Moxy Hotel and a writers round while in Nashville.

“Ever since, I’ve kept writing and performing,” Spenser said.

At Westfield High School, she was active in Battle of the Bands and American Pie concert (performing “November Rain,” singing “Separate Ways” and drumming for “This One’s for the Girls”) and played a small role in the school’s “The Wizard of Oz” musical. She also did Rock Band and Steel Pans at the high school. While she continued to play open mics and do gigs, she mainly focused on school the past two years.

While during her junior year, she auditioned for “The Voice” and received a call back,” which was “so cool and surreal,” her senior year, she auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” in an open virtual call (and didn’t hear back) and also had the opportunity to open for the punk band, The Day After at the Hoosier Dome with her former band D!Vots, “which was an amazing experience,” she said.

This summer, after graduation, she was invited to perform in the 30th annual Master Musicians Festival in Somerset, Ky. in the Young Singer Songwriter round. “I got to meet so many cool artists,” she said.

Upcoming, she’ll perform at Urban Vines Winery & Brewery in Westfield, Rush on Main Street in Zionsville and in September in the Water Lantern Festival in Lexington, Ky.

“I’m continuing my music journey and am hoping to make a career out of it,” said the teen, who plans to attend IUPUI majoring in business and minoring in music production. Over the summer, she completed two Ivy Tech online college classes, Music Theory and Calculus, and scored A’s in both. She puts her money away from gigs to pay for college.

Also, performing tonight during StringTime on the Square, is opener 12-year-old yodeler Azalia Davidson, who was second-place winner in Noblesville’s Got Talent. She performed in April with Riders in the Sky at the Brown County Playhouse in Nashville, Ind. (Riders in the Sky performed the soundtrack for “Toy Story 2” and “Monsters Inc.”) and won the 2022 Youth Talent Contest at the 2022 Indiana State Fair. Tonight, she will sing her prize-winning tune, “He Taught Me To Yodel.”

Noblesville High School senior Addie McMillan, who won Grand Champion at the Hamilton County 4-H Fair Talent Show in July, qualifying her for the Indiana State Fair, will sing The National Anthem at tonight’s concert tonight and will emcee the youth portion of the show.

Stones Crossing will headline the concert at 7 p.m. Mark Graham has been singing with daughters, Shalynn and Amanda for their whole lives, in church and at home. For 30 years, he’s played with various bands, and then one day got a chance to perform with his son-in-law, Billy Adams. Not long after that, Mark Graham quit his other groups to focus on the family band, exclusively. Stones Crossing will play a variety of gospel, bluegrass, country and soft rock.  And Girlray said, don’t be surprised if the band adds a little bit of Elvis.

Want to GO?

What: Legacy Keepers Music’s StringTime on the Square summer music series.

When: 6:30 p.m.-8:15 p.m. Saturday.

Where: West side of Hamilton County Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville.

How much: Free. Donations accepted.

What else: Bring lawn chairs or blankets.

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact The Times Editor Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com.