Will Johnson

I’m thankful to Keeled Scales for helping see my new LP, “No Ordinary Crown” into the world today.

Thank you Ramble Creek, Lindsey Verrill, Ricky Ray Jackson and Roberto Sanchez for being a part of it. We have a good number of recording hours between us at this point, and the trust levels are such that there’s not much preparation, or any rehearsal on the ramp up. Each session is largely based on gut instinct, and working in the moment. It’s not a refined or flawless approach, but (to me) embodies the best sensations of what making something together is about.

Thank you Adam Young for the stunning cover art, Helms Workshop for the layout work, Maddy Underwood for the design and merch help, to Britton Beisenherz and Jim Wilson for their generosity and efforts in engineering, mixing and mastering, and to Undertow for helping guide the ship for decades.

There will be a (solo) in-store at Waterloo Records on September 25, and a Texas full band 4-step (including everyone from this session) with the great Renée Reed in February. 

Thanks for reading this, and maybe see you down the road. 
-wj

BUY “NO ORDINARY CROWN”
Undertow Store : https://tinyurl.com/5n7hcjmu
Keeled Scales : https://tinyurl.com/38bc2jvy
Keeled Scales UK/EU Shop : https://tinyurl.com/2pb7cxae
Bandcamp : https://willjohnson.bandcamp.com
Streaming : https://lnk.to/WillJohnson

SHOWS
September 25 : Austin TX – Waterloo Records In-store performance @ 5pm
February 1 : Denton TX – Dan’s Silverleaf – TICKETS
February 2 : Houston TX – Continental Club – TICKETS
February 3 : San Antonio TX @ Lonesome Rose – TICKETS
February 4 : Austin TX @ Ballroom – TICKETS

We’re excited to announce these full band shows happening in February! The band will be the same folks who played on the new album…. Lindsey Verrill, Ricky Ray Jackson and Roberto Sanchez.

Tickets are on sale for all shows. Come out and see us if you can. 

February 1 : Denton TX – Dan’s Silverleaf – TICKETS
February 2 : Houston TX – Continental Club – TICKETS
February 3 : San Antonio TX @ Lonesome Rose – TICKETS
February 4 : Austin TX @ Ballroom – TICKETS

I have a new song in the wild this week. “Sinker, Sinking” fell together in a Tulsa hotel room fairly quickly in 2021. It’s a pop song for the greater part, zeroing in on its subject’s hiding out as a storm builds outside. I guess it’s no stretch to suggest that the storm represents a kind of anxiety, and the hope is to zoom out, let the movements of the day occur naturally, and try to omit the waves of incessant worry. I knew I wanted the band to shine as the outro unfurled, and they certainly did.

“No Ordinary Crown” is my new full length LP, and it comes out courtesy of Keeled Scales on September 15. Vinyl and CD pre-orders are up and running via Keeled Scales or Undertow. There will also be a pink vinyl edition from Good Records limited to 200 copies, hand numbered, including an art print and baseball card.

The Keeled Scales merch store will also include a classic diner mug, a gradient-printed silkscreen shirt, and mesh hats w/ sewn on patch. These new items will also be available from Undertow starting on August 16.

The LP art and design elements were assembled by my dear friend Adam Young. Album layout by Helms Workshop. Merch designs by Maddy Underwood. New press photos by the great Todd Wolfson.

No Ordinary Crown was engineered and mixed by Britton Beisenherz at Ramble Creek, mastered by Jim Wilson, and played by Britton Beisenherz, Ricky Ray Jackson, Little Mazarn, Roberto Sanchez, and me.

Thank you for checking it. ♥️, -wj

Links to pre-order vinyl, cd, new merch and pre-save digital here…
https://lnk.to/willjohnson

Jason Isbell and I have gotten to make a whole bunch of racket, see a good number of touring miles, and sing a lot of songs together in various forms since 2004. As of this week I’ll be joining along on drums, percussion, guitars, backing vocals (and gong) as part of the 400 Unit for a bunch of touring through the rest of this year, and maybe even some more down the road.

Come hang with us this summer. If the Weathervanes release show on Friday was any sign of things to come, I think the joy buffet will be more than plentiful.

♥️, -wj

(photo by Todd Wolfson)

Will is headed out on tour in March and April, playing all acoustic shows in small capacity spaces.

BUY TICKETS:
https://undertowshows.com/collections/will-johnson

Wed March 22 : St Louis MO
Thur March 23 : Chicago IL
Fri March 24 : Detroit MI
Sat March 25 : Cleveland OH
Sun March 26 : Pittsburgh PA
Mon March 27 : Buffalo NY
Wed March 29 : Syracuse NY
Thu March 30 : Boston MA
Frid March 31 : Weehawken NJ – SOLD OUT
Sat April 1 : Philadelphia PA
Sun April 2 : Baltimore MD – SOLD OUT
Tue April 4 : Washington DC
Thu April 6 : Athens GA
Fri April 7 : Atlanta GA
Sat April 8 : Waverly AL
Sun April 9 : New Orleans LA

# # #

Undertow Shows are intimate events hosted by fans in private spaces such as: living rooms, lofts, recording studios, coffee shops, museums, yoga studios, bike shops, churches, indoor skate parks, and more.

Each show is completely unique. We try to find the most accommodating spaces for both the artist and the fans. Things we always try to consider is: acoustics of the room, accessibility, available seating and proximity to parking and public transportation. It all adds up to a magical experience.

Thank you!

BUY TICKETS

Presented by The Joe Pat Hennen Family and Dan’s Silver Leaf. Enjoy two nights under the desert stars listening to some of the best Texas connected music you’ll ever hear, no doubt. Ticket price does NOT include lodging. BYOB. BYOF. These lovely evenings take place in the beautiful environs of The Marathon Motel in Marathon, Texas. Spend your mornings and afternoons day trippin’ or just hangin’ out and relaxing. Music starts each night at 7pm. On Friday, Telecaster Slingin’, Honky Tonkin’ Mary Cutrufello & Trevor McSpadden will be kickin’ things off! Isaac Hoskins & The Glass Mountain Orchestra will finish up the night. Saturday night it’ll be Will Johnson, solo. Your co-hosts for both evenings will be Isaac Hoskins and Tex Bosley. Price of a ticket DOES include some complimentary beveraging. During both night’s shows, you’ll be enjoying the delicious beer provided by Denton County Brewing Co., brewed specifically for this event. Also, refreshing cocktails provided by Deep Eddy Vodka! Pass your bottle and pass what have ya!. This thing is called the Big Bender for a reason. There should be camping space available at the Marathon Motel ($) as well as rooms at The Gage ($$$$$) but you need to act now. Plenty of Air B & B action in town as well. Please join us for this VERY special weekend.

(photo by Barry Toranto)

We’re looking for people to host Will Johnson Undertow Shows in March + April 2023

We’ll make this as easy as possible for the hosts. All you have to do is let us borrow your living room (for approx 3 hours) and check-in guests at the door upon arrival. In return you’ll get 5 free tickets for your friends and our eternal gratitude.

Do you live in or near one of the cities listed below? Do you have large living room, loft space, community space, art gallery, yoga studio, coffee shop, or other space that can comfortably and safely host up to 50 people? If so, please read everything on this page and fill in the form below to submit your space.

Will would love to play a show at your place!

March
March 22: St. Louis MO
March 23: Chicago IL
March 24: Detroit MI
March 25: Cleveland OH / Pittsburgh PA
March 26: Buffalo NY
March 28: Boston MA
March 29: NYC / Brooklyn
March 31 : Philadelphia PA

April
April 01: Baltimore MD
April 02: Washington DC
April 03: Richmond VA
April 04: Asheville NC / Brevard NC
April 05: Athens GA
April 06: Atlanta GA
April 07: Waverly AL
April 08: Mississippi / Louisiana

IMPORTANT!
1. Please read everything so you know how it works.
2. PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK TO FILL IN THE FORM TO SUBMIT YOUR PLACE
3. Sit tight and we’ll get back to as soon as possible if we can confirm a show at your place.

A few things we want you to know about hosting a show. . .

1. LOCATION
You have a large living room, loft space, community space, art gallery, yoga studio, recording studio, coffee shop or other space where we can do a private show that can comfortably and safely host up to 40 people.

There needs to be street parking, parking garage or public transportation nearby so guests can get to your place easily. Please check with your neighbors and make sure they’re ok with a bunch of extra people coming over before you offer to host a show. It would be a huge bummer if someone called the cops because of all the extra cars and people coming to your place.

2. CAPACITY
We’re currently limiting capacity for indoor shows to 35 tickets. Please keep in mind when determining your capacity, you get five free tickets for friends that won’t be included in the ticketed capacity. The capacity you tell us will be the number of tickets we put on sale. EXAMPLE: If we sell 35 tickets and you invite 5 guests, there will be 40 people at the show.

3. TICKET PRICE
Ticket price will be $20. Everyone must buy tickets in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door. There will be no reselling or third-party tickets sales. All tickets sales are direct to fans from Undertow. Limit 4 tickets per person. These shows usually sell out quickly and we want everyone to have a fair opportunity to buy tickets.

4. GUEST LIST
We’ll provide the host with a list of everyone coming to the show. The host won’t have to deal with any money and will only need to check people off the list as they arrive. We ask guests to arrive between 7:15-7:45pm. The shows start at 8pm and we ask everyone to be out of your space within 30 minutes after the show has ended. That’s usually no later than 10pm.

VERY IMPORTANT! We are requiring all guests bring a completed COVID-19 vaccine card and show it at the door to enter. The artist will be at the door with the host to help check-in guests as they arrive. There will be no exceptions. If someone doesn’t have their vaccine card, they will not be allowed to enter.

5. FREE TICKETS FOR HOSTS
The host gets 5 additional free tickets for the show. If you have other friends beyond your 5 guests who want to come to the show you should direct them buy tickets on-line. These guests will also need to bring a completed vaccine card to attend the show.

6. PROMOTING THE SHOW
The shows will promoted on our websites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and word-of-mouth. Your home address will not be published on the web and will only be given to people who purchase tickets.

We’ll need your help to spread the word on your Facebook and Twitter too. We’ll create a Facebook event for each show and make you a host of the event so you can easily invite your friends (Thank you!). Remember, please don’t post your address. The address only goes to people after they buy tickets. We need to keep the location private so random people don’t try to show up and pay at the door.

7. SOUND SYSTEM & LIGHTING
You don’t need a sound system. Most of the shows are totally acoustic. But some artists bring a small sound system if they’re playing electric instruments, so they will need access to a nearby electrical outlet. We’ll let you know.

You don’t need any special lighting. But it would be great if you had some kind of ambient lighting like a lamp on coffee table, floor lamp, or overhead lights with a dimmer to help create a cozy mood.

8. SEATING
You don’t need seating for everyone. If you have a bunch of chairs, great! But most shows are floor seating and we let guests know they should bring folding chair, cushion or pillow to sit on during the show.

9. OPENING ARTISTS
We don’t have openers on the living room shows. We’re trying to make this as easy as possible and minimize the amount of time guests are in your space. It’s much easier for us to keep things simple and stay on schedule if it’s just one artist playing.

10. FRIENDLY PETS
We love dogs and cats… we really do! But an excitable pet running around during the show can be distracting for the guests and performers. If you have curious and friendly 4-legged family members, would you be ok with putting them in another part of the house or sending them to a friend’s house during the show?

PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK TO FILL IN THE FORM TO SUBMIT YOUR PLACE

# Thanks! #

(the way it’s been vs. the way it’s gonna be..)

Some Spain shows very soon.

November 2 – Madrid / Siroco
November 3 – Valencia / Loco Club
November 4 – Zaragoza / La Lata de Bombillas
November 5 – Santander / Escenario Santander (Moon Estudio)
November 6 – San Sebastián / Altxerri
November 8 – Ourense / Pop Torgal
November 9 – A Coruna / Club Uni
November 11 – Barcelona / Heliogabal

More info via www.houstonpartymusic.com

Honored to share more miles and shows with Bob Mould in September.

9/11 – Bozeman, MT / The Elm
9/13 – Boise, ID / Visual Arts Collective
9/14 – Salt Lake City, UT / Commonwealth Room
9/16 – Colorado Springs, CO / The Black Sheep
9/17 – Ft. Collins, CO / Washington’s
9/18 – Denver, CO / Oriental Theater
9/20 – Santa Fe, NM / Tumbleroot
9/22 – Ft. Worth, TX / Tulip’s
9/23 – Houston, TX / Continental Club
9/24 – Austin, TX / ACL Live at 310

Maybe see you out there.
, wj