He is the founder and leader of the Jon Finn Group, and is a professor at the Berklee College of Music; he joined the guitar faculty there in 1988.
When he was 14 years old he played with the group Cheap Thrills, which consisted of Finn, Steve Carro (Vocals), Bob Shain (Keyboard), Ron Dupres (Bass), Joel Sklar (Rhythm Guitar), and Greg Buckingham (Drums).
He has also performed with John Petrucci of Dream Theater, Carl Verheyen, Vinnie Moore, Andy Timmons, Steve Morse of the Dixie Dregs, New York Voices, Collin Raye, Dweezil Zappa, and Debbie Reynolds, among others.
In addition he has toured with musical theater productions such as Rent, Mamma Mia!, Aida, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Copacabana.
In his 1999 publication, Advanced Modern Rock Guitar Improvisation, Finn introduced the warp refraction principle.