He actually laid hands on a guitar aged two, wrote his first song at six and went on to accompany his father to watch gigs in his home town of Blackpool.
Touring musicians would often stay at their family home, which meant he regularly enjoyed expert tuition from some of the greats.
Nowadays he has a cult following of his own.
If you can get along to his gigs you’ll see how he combines a deeply personal performances with his natural wit – and a characteristic two-handed guitar style!
Using just the one instrument, his technique brings drum beats, bass lines and sparkling melodies to the audience, all at the same time.
A master of the art, some of his musical creations are something never heard anywhere else.
He says: “I’ve got a cult following and I’m really well known among guitar players in particular – and there are a lot of people playing the guitar these days!
“It’s mostly down to the Internet now. There are lots and lots of videos of my work on YouTube that people have watched.
“I’ve got loads of friends and followers online and that’s how people find out about me now.”
Early on he turned down a place at Oxford University studying English to attend The Guitar Institute in London. He paid his way through college playing jazz in café-bars, recording as a session guitarist, and playing country music for line dancers.
Nowadays he spends much of the year on the road, touring Europe and playing at festivals from Rome to Athens.
And he loves the Jolly Brewer – where the atmosphere is “amazing”. He’s looking forward to their first outdoor gig of the season.
He says: “I play a few covers in my set and they are the ones people will remember and request.
“Once the album had been out a while all the requests I get at gigs are songs from that record. It’s quite humbling when people are shouting out for songs you’ve written yourself!”
Jon’s independent approach to the music industry means his albums are home recorded and released on the label he owns.
His presence on myspace and YouTube are key to his appeal, with his debut album Hypertension selling over 10,000 copies with no industry backing.
He’s not keen on putting songs online that aren’t produced and published for people to buy for themselves.
“Every gig I play gets filmed – and some of the quality is amazing,” says Jon.
“I really don’t mind. The reason people want to do it is because they want to help me. They are aware that the way people find out about me is by people telling each other. They realise they can tell thousands like this and their spreading the word
is really flattering.”
The brand new album, Don't Panic, sold out on Amazon within five days.
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Nottingham is full of fun, according to the traditional football chant. It's full of a few other things, too, so while I welcome comments, don't bother adding anything that won't get published...