James Johnston on his landmark second album, WHERE YOU’LL FIND ME

Since multiple award-winning and -nominated country music artist James Johnston started releasing singles, I’ve interviewed him several times. Although we’d met in person none of those interviews have been in person before now, and it was wonderful to have the chance to chat to Johnston about his second album, WHERE YOU’LL FIND ME, the follow-up to his smash-hit debut RAISED LIKE THAT. Because we filmed this in person and I don’t have a whiz-bang multi-camera studio, you’ll see only him on camera – although I did have nice microphones on us both!There have already been several hit singles from WHERE YOU’LL FIND ME, including ‘Hell Boy’ and ‘Good For Me’, but as with RAISED LIKE THAT Johnston held some things back for the album. In the sixteen tracks we hear his stories, yes, but my impression was that this album seems more structured around themes, such as loyalty, love, dedication to family, appreciation of friends, hard work and very much not taking anything for granted. I put this to Johnston in the interview, and you can watch/listen to hear his response!Johnston wrote dozens of songs before he recorded his first single, and his dedication not only to creating but to editing his output means that his albums are curated to offer an experience to the listener. Even a song that looks like a party song from the outside – such as ‘I Oughta Know Better’- offers details that build a world, rather than relying on cliché.There’s also a special song called ‘Can I Keep Talking to You’, which I saw Johnston perform live ahead of the album release and immediately noted. It was lovely to hear the story behind that too.I’ve never been shy about my admiration of Johnston, who not only has the talent and application but professionalism to match. His rapid rise was many years in the making, and he has consolidated the success of his first releases with a second album that will deepen his connection with fans, and no doubt bring in new fans too.Listen to WHERE YOU’LL FIND ME on Apple MusicListen to WHERE YOU’LL FIND ME on SpotifyFor more Sunburnt Country Music:InstagramFacebook YouTubewebsite Substack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.