Freedy Johnston Returns!

First new collection of original material in 8 years from the semi-itinerant troubadour.

By Blurt Staff

Bar/None just announced it will be releasing Freedy Johnston's new rec Rain On The City on Jan. 12. It was produced in Nashville by Richard McLaurin, of Justin Townes Earle, Allison Moorer, Slaid Cleaves and Matthew Ryan fame. As the label informs us, the sound ranges from strings/keyboards-draped tunes to sensitive acoustic tunes to full-on country-rockers.

Where has Freedy Johnston been wandering in the years prior to making this album? Some folks lost track of him after his 1994 hit "Bad Reputation" and his last Elektra album, 2001's Right Between the Promises. He has moved around, living in NYC, Austin, Kansas, Madison and Nashville. Explains Johnston, "It takes a while to re-adjust one's priorities and get back on track after working with the big budget that the majors give you. I went through issues with the IRS, had a relationship go south and a touring vehicle grind to a halt but through it all I never gave up writing and gigging whenever possible."

Johnston's been around since the ‘80s, crafting literate pop while becoming a mainstay of the Hoboken scene. He's worked with uber-producers like Butch Vig and T Bone Burnett, although for most of the past decade he's kept a pretty low profile. Re-emerging, he promises to stay busy and reportedly has already been brainstorming his next album, working with other songwriters, including Silver Seas' Daniel Tashian in a side project they call the Charmers. He's also done some recording in Austin with Jon Dee Graham, and word has it he might even be working up some material in Madison with Duke Erikson and Butch Vig of Garbage in their joint cover band the Know-It-All Boyfriends