Benjamin Dakota Johnson has scored a Juno nomination in the Traditional Roots Album of the Year category for his 2023 release Paint Horse. He is a Southwestern Ontario native having grown up there on his family farm. His bio draws attention to his “distinct, immediate, and truly wild voice,” which is certainly true. The album is also full of beautifully played fiddles and banjos and all that a traditional roots music fan could desire.
As for the material, according to one reviewer, “Rogers’s biggest feat with Paint Horse is the way he’s fused the hardscrabble tales of the people from songs with a lived-in love for his surroundings.”
It is truly a beautiful album containing some very fine cuts. The new release follows a 2019 album called Better By Now. This is of course the title track from the current release.