Guitarist Jonny Lang brings new music to Macon

Jonny Lang, performing Friday at the Grand Opera House, is known as a blues guitarist but doesn’t necessarily categorize himself that way.

Now touring in support of his latest album, “Fight for My Soul,” he says his music has changed in the years since he got his start.

“It’s changed quite a bit as I’ve tried to become a better songwriter and put things that inspire me into my own style of music,” Lang said. “Stylistically, I’ve moved away from being guitar-centered to being more about the songs themselves.”

In addition to the title song, the album “Fight for My Soul” includes the songs “The Truth,” “What You’re Looking For,” “Breakin’ In” and “We Are the Same,” an up-tempo song that changed form from its inception to production.

“When I wrote that, it was just on an acoustic guitar. It didn’t feel like that type of song; it felt more mid-tempo, but that’s the shape it took when we went in to record,” he said. “This record, more than any of my others, feels like one run-on sentence, like one idea that flows from the first song to the last.”

Lang grew up in North Dakota in “the rare farm family who always had music playing in the house.” From a young age, he knew he wanted to be a singer. He began taking guitar lessons from the guitar player in a band his dad was friends with, soon joining that band as its singer and continuing to improve his music.

“We moved to Minneapolis a couple years later; it’s a better music town than the town I’m from. We made a record shortly after I joined the band on an independent label, and I started making records on my own for A&M Records when I was 15,” Lang said.

That album, 1997’s “Lie to Me,” went platinum and reached No. 1 on Billboard’s New Artist chart. He followed it with “Wander This World,” which earned a Grammy nomination when he was just 17, and then released “Long Time Coming.” His fifth album, “Turn Around,” won the Grammy for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album in 2007, and “Live at the Ryman” was released in 2010.

“The Ryman is an amazing venue. I got to play there a few times over the years, and being able to make a record there was just incredible; there’s no way to describe the feeling. It sets itself apart and is just a very special place,” he said.

He has toured with the Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Aerosmith, B.B. King, Blues Traveler, Jeff Beck and Sting, and said he is happy to perform in any size venue for any size crowd.

“A small audience is great because they seem to listen more and pay more attention, but a large audience is great because of the energy they bring. It’s all about all the people there,” Lang said, adding that there are, of course, songs his fans always want to hear, especially “Lie to Me.”

“It was my very first song released, so I understand that. I always want to hear that one song from bands I like, that one song that gave me my first impression of them,” he said.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Guitarist Jonny Lang brings new music to Macon."