The Will Johns Fogartyville concert brought an unforgettable evening of blues-rock to Sarasota on August 22.
The celebrated British guitarist delivers a fabulous Sarasota performance. A major festival appearance and revealing new memoir await
Sarasota music lovers were treated to an exceptional evening when British blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Will Johns took the stage at Fogartyville Community Media & Arts Center on August 22. Performing with his band in the intimate Rosemary District venue, Johns delivered a fabulous show filled with commanding vocals, electrifying guitar work and the unmistakable authenticity of an artist who has lived the blues rather than simply studied it.
The close setting of Fogartyville was ideal for Johns’ intensely personal style. Without the distance of a large arena, the audience could appreciate every expressive guitar phrase, vocal inflection and spontaneous musical exchange. His performance blended the power of classic blues rock with a contemporary edge, demonstrating why he has earned such an enthusiastic following in Florida and around the world.
Will Johns at Fogertyville by Peter Buehler
Johns arrived in Sarasota with an extraordinary musical heritage, but what made the evening memorable was the distinctive identity he has created for himself. He is the son of acclaimed producer and engineer Andy Johns, whose credits include landmark recordings by Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, and actress and model Paula Boyd. His uncle is legendary producer Glyn Johns, known for his work with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton.
His aunt Pattie Boyd was famously married to both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, inspiring some of rock music’s most enduring love songs. As a teenager, Johns received an early guitar lesson from “Uncle Eric,” who showed him the opening of “Crossroads” and encouraged him to discover the rest for himself. That lesson in creativity and improvisation continues to shape the freedom and emotional honesty of Johns’ playing today.
Yet Johns has never relied upon his celebrated family name. His Sarasota performance made that beautifully clear. He is a magnetic artist with a strong voice, an instinctive connection to his guitar and the ability to move effortlessly from controlled restraint to explosive blues-rock energy. He respects the traditions of the genre while bringing his own personality, humor and experience to every song.
The evening also introduced Sarasota audiences to music surrounding Johns’ sixth album, On Top of the World. The recording includes songs such as “Loneliest Man on Earth,” “Moondog,” “Bull Cow Blues,” “Mannish Boy,” “Spoonful” and the title track. Acclaimed drummer Steve Ferrone, whose credits include Eric Clapton and Tom Petty, appears throughout the album, while Tomiko Dixon, granddaughter of blues legend Willie Dixon, contributes a special vocal performance.
Will Johns at Fogertyville by Peter Buehler
In 2025, Johns was inducted as a Legendary Artist into the Blues Hall of Fame in Chicago during a ceremony at Buddy Guy’s Legends. Buddy Guy was in attendance and, after hearing Johns play, offered the ultimate blues endorsement: “Now that’s what I call the blues.” It is easy to understand Guy’s reaction after witnessing Johns’ musicianship in person. His playing is technically impressive, but its greatest strength is the genuine feeling behind every note.
The Sarasota appearance arrives just before another remarkable milestone. Johns is scheduled to perform at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, taking place September 26 and 27 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Johns’ announced festival performance will feature longtime Clapton musicians Nathan East and Sonny Emory.
Eric Clapton will perform on both nights of the seventh Crossroads Guitar Festival, which brings together an extraordinary collection of guitarists, including Buddy Guy, John Mayer, Billy Gibbons, Gary Clark Jr., Pete Townshend, Trey Anastasio, Taj Mahal, Marcus King, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Jimmie Vaughan.
The festival is more than an extraordinary gathering of musical talent. All profits benefit Crossroads Centre Antigua, the treatment and education facility founded by Clapton in 1998 to assist people affected by alcohol and chemical dependency. The organization provides residential treatment, family support, aftercare programs and continuing recovery initiatives throughout Antigua and the Caribbean.
The charitable mission has particular resonance as Johns prepares to tell his own deeply personal story. His memoir, Bluesdaddy: Born into Noise, Raised on Chaos and Saved by the Blues, written with Marshall Terrill, is scheduled for release September 1. Rather than presenting a glamorous backstage tour through rock royalty, the book explores the complicated reality of growing up surrounded by brilliance, celebrity, addiction, instability and enormous expectations.
With humor and candor, Johns examines the experiences that ultimately allowed him to find his own voice. The blues became more than a musical style; it offered honesty, purpose and a pathway forward.
Johns will reveal the remarkable human story behind his music with the September 1 release of Bluesdaddy: Born into Noise, Raised on Chaos, Saved by the Blues, published worldwide by Genius Book Publishing. Co-written with celebrity biographer Marshall Terrill, the memoir opens the door to a rock-and-roll world few have ever seen, tracing Johns’ turbulent childhood in England and Los Angeles and his experiences inside the legendary orbit of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac. Yet Bluesdaddy is not a celebrity victory lap. Written with wit, candor and hard-earned perspective, it explores the personal cost of growing up in the shadow of music history—and how Johns transformed family instability, addiction, heartbreak, failure and expectation into an identity and sound entirely his own. At its heart is the blues: not simply as a musical tradition, but as the survival language that ultimately helped Johns turn chaos into honesty, purpose and art.
At Fogartyville, Sarasota experienced that story through the music. Will Johns delivered a performance that was powerful, soulful and wonderfully immediate—a fabulous night with an artist honoring an extraordinary legacy while confidently creating one entirely his own.
