Meet Joe T. Johnson | Musician / Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joe T. Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joe, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Music from an early age has been a huge part of my life. I started noticing my passion in high school when I discovered music like The Beatles, Velvet Underground, The Clash, Stone Roses, and Nirvana. I knew music was something I wanted to pursue long term. I felt so inspired and motivated to start learning and trying to write my own songs. I remember sitting at the back of the classroom writing lyrics and finishing songs ready to bring to rehearsal with the band after school.

After high school, I decided to leave my hometown ‘St.Ives’ for ‘Bristol’ in the hope of expanding my network and meeting like-minded creatives. I was lucky enough to meet some great musicians and start a band. We achieved success, notable achievements include recording two albums, touring the country, playing live on the BBC, and playing at Glastonbury Festival!

I moved to London and started a new solo project with a solid team of musicians and friends I work with. In London, I began to achieve international success by building a fan base, selling out my live performances, and selling music online and physically at record stores, and that’s how my career started. It took years of learning, perfecting my craft as an artist/songwriter, and growing as a person to get to where I am today. It’s still only the beginning, I have a long way to go!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Some of my most notable/achievements I’m most proud of are having played at the Glastonbury Festival multiple times, appearing on BBC London and releasing my debut EP. It’s an exciting time because we’re working on the debut album and it’s already sounding great!

The first record I released was called ‘English Elegance’ It was about being inspired by the melancholy things about England, and the lyrics told stories of very organic topics that felt natural to me! After this release, it cemented my identity as an artist and gave me a starting point to work from and develop myself. Releasing my first record independently taught me a lot about the music industry, I found these years of development very important for me as an artist. It made me stronger because I had to take to time to understand who I was and where I wanted to go with my music!

Whenever I find myself faced with a challenge I ask my friends and teammates for feedback and we work something out together, this has helped me develop of overcome some obstacles along the way.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favourite restaurant in London is called the Sessions Arts Club, it’s somewhere I like to go with friends when celebrating something special like a birthday or when achieving a goal. I also would like to visit the markets of London such as the Borough Market, taste food, buy fresh vegetables and catch up with friends over a coffee! I like to end the day by watching the sunset in Hyde Park sitting on a couple of deck chairs and just spacing out, for me, this would be a perfect day!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve been lucky enough to have a very supportive network around me to keep me on a good path in life. I want to take this opportunity to dedicate my shoutout to my good friends and family. Marek Domanowski, Jack Woolcomb, Harry Surman, Henry Ager, Jacob Tomes, plus many more friends and of course my amazing mum! I thank them for their love, encouragement, mentorship, support, and patience along the way!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejoetjohnson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejoetjohnson_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJoeTJohnson

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JoeTJohnson

Other: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/1KfLg5hchfgDMS2e0kaVDF?si=VVvI5t0aS6WrairVjtQQOQ

Image Credits
Photos by Henry Ager