Bugs on the Rug

Johnette Downing is a multi-award winning musician and author who serves up a gumbo of Louisiana roots music and books in a toe-tapping, two-stepping good time for children across the globe. In addition to working with children, she presents keynotes and workshops for educators globally. Dedicated to celebrating childhood, nurturing cultural exchanges, and fostering literacy through her music and books, Downing has performed in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, Central America, North America and the Caribbean. Her presentations speak to a child's interests in an engaging, interactive, thought-provoking, educational, entertaining and culturally respectful way; earning her a reputation for being the "Musical Ambassador to Children" and the "Pied Piper of Louisiana Music Traditions." A Governor of the Recording Academy's Memphis Chapter, Downing has garnered a long list of awards for her writing including a 2017 Louisiana Writer Award. Her work has received rave reviews online and in print including on Grammy.com and in Nick Jr. Magazine, Family Fun Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Parent's Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, American Library Association's Booklist, School Library Journal, Washington Post, Early Childhood News, Cookie Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, New Orleans Magazine, and Big Apple Parent . She was selected as one of "The Women of the Year 2008" by New Orleans CityBusiness Magazine, "Thirty People to Watch in 2000" by New Orleans Magazine and "Forty Under Forty" by Gambit Weekly Magazine .