Johnson performed at Port Fairy for the first time over the weekend — an interesting twist on his never-ending tour using a campervan packed with more than 30 guitars fashioned from old cigar boxes. 

Normally criss-crossing the United States with his partner and fellow performer Nikki, the couple landed at the festival for their tobacco-scented shows. 

“This is our first time in Port Fairy and our first time in Australia and we’re having the time of our lives,” Johnson said. 

“Nikki and I met in North Carolina and then a couple of years ago we sold everything and hit the road full-time in a small camper and we’ve been living in that.

“It’s amazing. There’s that moment when you have to take that leap. There’s all the good things about staying and there’s all the good things about going.

“But it’s really hard to pull up roots and go and give yourself no safety net.”

The couple will spend the next two months touring around Australia, showing off the peculiar instruments — some of them made in Melbourne. As for cigars, he doesn’t smoke them.