Slightly over per week after releasing his first album since 2011, singer Jamey Johnson was arrested Sunday simply outdoors of Nashville.
The nation singer-songwriter, who has written with Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and George Strait, is dealing with a felony drug cost after he was pulled over by the Tennessee Freeway Patrol for dashing, the Tennesseean reported. The “In Color” artist faces as much as a $5,000 fantastic, if convicted, and is scheduled to seem in a Williamson County courtroom on Feb. 6, in keeping with the outlet. Rolling Stone reported that marijuana was discovered within the automobile.
Representatives for Johnson in addition to the Williamson County sheriff’s and district legal professional’s workplaces didn’t reply instantly Tuesday to The Instances’ request for remark.
The arrest comes simply days after Johnson launched “Midnight Gasoline,” his first album in additional than a decade. Forward of the album’s launch, he dropped six singles together with “Sober” — through which the Grand Ole Opry member speaks about his wrestle with sobriety in an trade that he mentioned “glorifies drinking and other kinds of debauchery.”
“I am 13 years sober now,” Johnson mentioned on his web site upon the discharge of “Sober” in early September. “I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since 2011, and I know that could end this afternoon. It is a day-to-day, hour-to-hour decision.
“Most of the places I play are bars, or I am still hanging out in bars. That’s where most of my friends are,” he continued. “Now I can hang out in them and not be drinking like I used to.”
In 2016, a number of members of Johnson’s band have been arrested in Mississippi for possession of a managed substance, however the singer was not charged within the incident. Earlier this yr, Johnson’s nation peer Darius Rucker was arrested — additionally in Williamson County — and booked on minor drug possession fees.
Regardless of Johnson’s decade-long recording hiatus, he has touring recurrently. Final month, he joined Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Eric Church and different musicians in a five-hour tribute live performance honoring Robbie Robertson, the Canadian singer, guitarist, songwriter and composer who died final yr at age 80.
Maybe explaining how lengthy it took to launch “Midnight Gasoline,” Johnson informed The Instances in 2010 that his followers have “been following us from the beginning, and they’ll follow us till the end.
“They’re not looking for any measure of [commercial] success. And neither am I,” he mentioned. “That works out real well for both of us, don’t it?”