Jimmy Downing has been performing for Virginia audiences for over thirty years. He started his own folk group in high school and had his own rock 'n roll band in college. He has sung in choirs and choruses during high school and college and was tenor soloist in most of his early singing career. He started playing guitar in high school and also played bass guitar in dance bands while in college. During his years in the service and professional school, he continued to sing and play for friends and wrote many of his songs.

Jimmy has lived in the Charlottesville, Virginia area since 1980 with his family: Carol, his wife of 25 years, his son Chris and his daughter Emily. The family enjoy their home in Earlysville, Virginia which is just north of Charlottesville. Jimmy is a podiatrist in private practice in Charlottesville during the day, and he enjoys his music activities in the evenings and on weekends. Among his numerous musical activities are playing with his brothers Ron and Perry in the Downing Brothers Band, performing solo locally in night spots in Charlottesville and surrounding areas and helping with the music in his church, Christ Episcopal Church, in downtown Charlottesville.

Jimmy continues to write music and is currently working on another all original CD at Virginia Arts recording studio in Charlottesville. He performs at private parties and in addition to his original material has a repertoire of over 150 popular songs ranging from Jimmy Buffet to James Taylor tunes. Jimmy has studied voice privately, and at the University of Virginia. He was president of his college choir at his alma mater Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, where he received his B.S. in Chemistry. Following college, he served as a lieutenant in the Field Artillery in the U.S. Army, attended the New York College of Podiatric Medicine, and trained as a surgical resident in St. Louis, Missouri.

In his original music, Jimmy draws upon his own life experiences and tries to tell stories that other people can relate to from their own lives. "Not all of the happenings are true," says Jimmy. "Some of the characters are real in my mind and are only there because of feelings that I have experienced at one time or another. On my CD 'Heartless,' some of the tales are true, but others are pure fantasy." On his forthcoming CD, Jimmy has some comedy songs and a couple of songs that fall more into the country music flavor. Of course there are quite a few love songs on the new CD also. The new CD probably won't be ready until sometime in 2004. "I really want to thank all of the excellent musicians on 'Heartless" who helped make it something I am quite proud of. Most especially I want to thank Paul Brier, who not only helped produce most of the CD but also played over ten different instruments."

Jimmy will be playing locally in Charlottesville on January 25th at Blackstone's Coffee Company in Albemarle Square at 8:00p.m. See you there!