Latest single from City and Colour guitarist John Sponarski takes a detour from Bakersfield to Laurel Canyon
Johnny 99 continues his winning streak of 2025 singles with “Getting Over You,” a detour from Bakersfield to Laurel Canyon, showcasing his versatility as both a singer/songwriter and guitarist. The more mellow tones of “Getting Over You” contrast well with the hard-core honky tonk of its predecessors “I Wanna Go With My Boots On” and “Just Like You,” solidifying Johnny 99’s place among the most important new voices on the Canadian alt-country scene.
“Getting over someone is a season,” Johnny explains. “I think many people are uncomfortable with this. Most want these hard feelings and hard times to be over as quickly as possible, not only when it’s happening to them but also when it’s happening to their friends and loved ones—‘Let’s just get back to normal.’ But getting over someone is a process. It can be fumbling and it can be difficult, sad, and long. You’ll get there but you shouldn’t rush it and you certainly can’t skip it. I think we need to become more comfortable with sitting in these feelings and learn to celebrate these seasons of our lives. There can be a lot of beauty there. They are opportunities to come to know ourselves in deeper ways, and more importantly to learn and to grow.”
Johnny 99 is the alter ego of John Sponarski, guitarist in City and Colour, but as Johnny 99 he has been carrying the torch for classic country music for many years, as heard on the 2021 Johnny 99 debut album Words Left Unsaid. The long-overdue follow-up is slated for later in 2025, and once again, City and Colour fans will likely be surprised to hear how naturally Johnny, multi-instrumentalist Matt Kelly, bassist Erik Nielsen and drummer Leon Power immerse themselves in vintage country.
The evolution of Johnny 99 began after Sponarski earned his Bachelor’s Degree in music and spent the ensuing years touring as one half of the acclaimed duo Portage and Main, whose legacy is two albums of heartfelt roots rock. After that project’s dissolution, John began establishing his reputation as one of Vancouver’s in-demand session guitarists, working on countless records and backing up artists such as Aaron Pritchett, Ben Rogers, and Elliot C. Way. Since relocating to Toronto, Sponarski has been building a new community through his regular “Hippie Honky Tonk” nights at the Bell and Beacon on Queen Street West.
Johnny 99 made his debut in 2016 with a four-song EP as part of Light Organ Records’ Railtown Sessions. It showcased the first glimpses of his timeless songwriting, which fully bloomed when he recorded Words Left Unsaid for North Country Collective. At about the same time in 2021, John was invited to play on City and Colour’s The Love Still Held Me Near, and has been a touring member of the band ever since.
While getting to perform with Dallas Green on a nightly basis has fulfilled one of his primary ambitions, it is under the guise of Johnny 99 that Sponarski has been able to forge his own musical identity. It’s country music that was made to dance to, whilst shedding a few tears as well. In short, it’s honky tonk music, and right now, few artists in Canada are doing it better than Johnny 99.