Brit blues artist Will Johns returns to Orlando this week, this time with an eco-friendly approach.
On Thursday, Johns, the nephew of two rock & roll legends — George Harrison and Eric Clapton — will play at the Dr. Phillips Center’s most intimate venue, Judson’s Live on Thursday, Jan. 23. He is set to perform two shows spotlighting his latest studio album, Yin & Yang.
Yin & Yang has environmentalist roots, among other notable differences from Johns’ past releases. Johns worked with Evolution Music to press the album on sustainable vinyl made from bioplastics instead of toxic polyvinyl chloride.
“Even before I wrote the album, I was concerned with making something that would be a vinyl and not only that, but an eco-vinyl,” Johns says. “The actual production of the product came much later than the music was ready, so there was a time delay between when the release of the album was and when the vinyl was supposed to be released.”
Touring is not exactly mindful of Mother Earth either, according to Johns. When you think about all the different people and parts that make a tour possible, plastic use normally isn’t what first comes to mind.
“The single-use plastic in the music industry is off the scale, especially on a tour,” Johns says. “If you were to see all the spoons and forks and stuff like that … it’s just phenomenal.”
A more ethically produced record wasn’t the only physical takeaway on his mind. Johns says he kept that same mentality when considering his merchandise booth.
“We obviously sell amazingly high-quality T-shirts, but I also have handmade, eco-friendly shark’s-tooth jewelry that is made out of a kind of abalone called PowerShell,” Johns says.
Aside from the environmentally conscious mindset, Johns says “there were a lot of different elements that didn’t marry up together” on his latest album — one element being the surprised reaction from his listeners.
Yin & Yang is all about embracing opposites and it stands in contrast to the sound of his most popular album, BLUESDADDY — something fans were not expecting.
Johns says that he’s aware that he is known for playing blues and for his work in Clapton tribute The Cream of Clapton Band. Johns says that Yin & Yang doesn’t follow the structure of classic blues, unlike BLUESDADDY, which is focused on songs that are classics of the venerable American artform.
“People like me to play that kind of stuff,” Johns admits.
“I think because of the different approach on this new album, where it’s all quite original, I’m not sure if it is appreciated as much [by audiences] as me just playing my uncle’s music, for example.”
Despite the unexpected reaction, Johns has had a successful tour of the album thus far. The 38-stop tour run began in September of last year and will continue until late April.
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This article appears in Jan 15-21, 2025.