Jan Johansson

Follow Your Dreams Photos Courtesy of Jan Johansson Jan (pronounced “Yahn”) Johansson is a man who has defied all odds. A true connoisseur of bluegrass, he is a player, teacher, historian, collector, and much more. What makes him truly amazing is that he achieved all this by overcoming huge obstacles along the way: being born and raised in a foreign country, relocating to the US and immersing himself in bluegrass culture and becoming an active and engaged member of the bluegrass community, surviving a heart attack, followed by a heart transplant, and so much more. He is a foremost authority on our genre and has befriended many of the movers and shakers within the industry. Jan, 67, fondly recalled his youth in Sweden. “I can remember always being drawn to music and having a fascination with guitars. As a very young child, I had a toy guitar with fishing line for strings. I didn’t start playing guitar until Easter 1972. By the time I got into the guitar, I had had a fe