Steeped in the deep folk music traditions of Appalachia, and further molded by his prodigious young success, singer-songwriter John-Robert has released his endearing new single “Set It Off.”
The track arrives off his new EP Cross Stitch, which will be released on November 14. His first new body of work since 2023’s Garden Snake EP and first release as an independent artist.
John-Robert shared, “Post-breakup, I wanted to prove to myself that I was still fun. I went out by myself, dressed in something cute, but couldn’t build the courage to dance or talk to anyone. I wrote the tune as if I had overcome my social anxiety.”
In early 2025, John-Robert made the move from Los Angeles back to his home of Edinburg, Virginia (pop. 1,070). After spending 6 years on the West Coast, he knew that the best way to prioritize his mental health was returning to the place where he first fell in love with music and with himself. Put simply, John-Robert shared that the people in his hometown “want more for me than they want from me.”
John-Robert’s new music video for “Set It Off” shows what it’s like to spend a day with him as he traverses Southern California — from arcades and photo booths to singing impromptu karaoke on the pier.
John-Robert has been a notable performer since he was a child, it is simply what he was born to do. At only 13 years old, John-Robert was handpicked to perform on the Ellen show as a musical child prodigy. At 19, he left his hometown Edinburg, VA (pop. 1,070) in 2019 to move to LA and start his music career, bypassing a scholarship to Berklee.
