Bill Johnson and his Band play the Charlie White Theatre, Mary Winspear Center in Sidney, May 19th. Boasting the combination of a band that’s been going strong for almost 20 years, an album that’s blowing fans and critics away, and a spontaneous approach to performing, Johnson’s show promises to leave the seats rocking. “Probably people might be moved to get up and dance,” Johnson speculated. “We play some established tunes and we have a lot of fancy new numbers.” It’s no surprise to industry insiders that Johnson’s Still Blue was recently recognized with a Juno nomination for best blues album of 2011. Years of practice and a career-long dedication to his genre under the tutelage of some bona fide masters have put him in an elite category of Canadian artists who were partying in Ottawa last weekend. Calling from that city just hours before performing at Juno-fest and learning whether he’d take home the prize that night, Johnson said he was pleased about his album’s progression since he produced it and started marketing it from home two years ago. “I was over the moon [to receive the nomination]. The day I met my wife, the day my son was born and that, they’re the best three days of my life,” he said. The strength of his playing career and the latest album have helped bring Johnson into a new relationship with Wood Rock Music, a local label who signed him in February, just weeks before the Juno nomination was announced. (The album had already picked up the three top awards from the B.C. Blues Underground and three coveted Maples Blues Awards nominations.) With all the attention, Johnson said just getting to this place was award enough. “I’m very confident that my CD is a great CD, but everyone else that’s nominated made a great CD too, and they’re all people I know . . . If you’re nominated that’s considered the prize because at that level, who knows what’s best?” Johnson started playing when he was just nine years old and credits an older brother with passing on his total blues obsession. “I had no choice but to listen to it most of my childhood. When I started playing guitar, he of course suggested these were the best guitarists to listen to. The blues just stuck.” Johnson decided to make music his sole career at 38. He has opened for Otis Rush and played alongside slide guitarist Doug Cox and Donald Ray Johnson. Although he didn’t end up taking home the Juno this time, his backers — including his new record label — are betting he’ll be going all the way. “I’ve been a guitar player all my life, and Bill is without a doubt one of the top three blues artists in the country,” said Salt Spring musician and producer Lloyd English,