You’d better believe we’re claiming James Austin Johnson. The Nashville native hit it big last year when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live for its 2021-2022 season, becoming the series’ resident Trump and Biden impressionist (his takes on both are uncanny) and racking up loads of screen time. While the longtime stand-up comic spent the past decade or so in Los Angeles and will obviously be headquartered in the Big Apple for much of the foreseeable future, he also recently purchased a home in Nashville and spends a great deal of his downtime here. Between acting gigs over the summer, Johnson brought his stand-up tour to town for a two-night stand at Zanies, where he killed not only with an array of impressions, but also with local-centric material and a long, hilarious bit about The Highwaymen’s weird and amazing 1985 song “Highwayman.” Welcome back to town, JAJ.
