Jonny Lang

The bluesman gets back to his roots on his latest tour.

With Eric Clapton among his many admirers, Jonny Lang has enjoyed a meteoric career. Although his style is rooted in the blues, the North Dakota-born guitarist/vocalist adds a contemporary twist. His latest record, Signs, is a homecoming. Of sorts.

What’s it like to achieve a platinum record at the age of fifteen, and to be nominated for a Grammy two years later?

It’s a fantastic feeling. When all of that [success] started, I was just elated.

Does a part of you also think: the only way from here is down?

[Laughs] I’ve had that feeling on a couple of occasions, yeah.

The new album Signs has a song called

Snakes that’s about the times when humility failed you. It’s pretty cool you would admit that.

Well, doesn’t everyone go through that at some point? I learned a lot of life lessons a lot earlier than I might have done under usual circumstances.

You’re now thirty-six. Fans of your music from the start have seen you get married, have five kids, fight addiction and discover God. You don’t mind sharing all that?

My songs can be pretty bare. I just write what’s in my heart.

Has owning up to being a Christian cost you some fans?

Maybe it has. But if someone asks me about that, I’ll tell them the truth. My relationship with God is pretty important to me.

Would you say that Signs sees you return to your blues roots?

Yeah. I’ve tried to grow as a songwriter, but in spite of that refinement, the blues is central to what I do.

Stronger Together is a slice of funky pop music, while Bring Me Home is almost a gospel tune – you refuse to be typecast. True, but I hope there’s continuity. I just write songs and record them.

There aren’t a whole lot of solos, but there’s a lot of guitar on the album. There are quite a few solos but they’re not extended ones. At this point, my goal is to integrate the solo into the song. DL Jonny Lang plays London Shepherd’s Bush Empire on November 4.