A copy of the article featured in Vinyl Index's double page spread

Johnny Ardvard: Your new hero?

The recent entrance of Johnny Arvard into the country music industry has swept the genre’s audience off their feet like a hurricane! This fresh faced young man has certainly produced quite a stir, his extremely obvious talent and ‘prince-charming’ looks means that he is the perfect catch! Apparently, a subtle country, rough and ready style and a vintage ford tractor is all you need to be exactly that.

Johnny’s attitude towards his music is inspirational, and this is apparent as soon as he picks up his mic. Johnny’s Irish routes are what first attracted him to this genre of music but he tells us: ‘My real inspiration is my beautiful fiancé Kimberly.’ An everyday, down-to-earth, farm boy whose muse is his lover.

Now living on a ranch in North Carolina, if Kimberly and Johnny aren’t milking cows or sewing crop, they are playing music in what they call their ‘Lyric Cabin’. Johnny’s new album: Losing my way to Texas, provides a tune to his country ways, as well as allowing to show off Kimberly’s talent in several duos they have recorded together, including: ‘Road trippin’ and ‘My heart lies with you’.

Johnny admits his road to success had definitely not been easy but he gives his fans or just ‘yet-to-be-discovered artists’ some advice: “It’s a long journey to overcome, but however steep that hill is to climb and while the pot holes in the road may be deep, the hill is a lot higher at the top, where you can feel like you’re on top of the world!”

After a wonderful tour of his ranch, Johnny was happy to tell me about the journey he took to his success, over a glass of Kimberley’s homemade strawberry whisky (which quite frankly was delicious!). After struggling to find an agent he pursued with his music by performing at bars and pubs, of which sometimes he’d travel for 6 hours to get to. After spending the colder parts of the year doing this, he spent a few days at some folk festivals, where he told us he was lucky enough to meet some bands who had been featured in this magazine. It was, eventually, here that someone from Bolthouse© approached him and agreed to represent him and produce his album. With truly inspirational lyrics and songs that will certainly make you move your feet, I can definitely say that ‘Losing my way to Texas’ is an absolute must have for this year’s playlist!

For more information on Johnny’s up and coming shows or to buy a ticket visit: www.vinylindex.com/johnnyardvard/tour12.