HE may have made his Glastonbury Festival debut this year.

But Johnny Lucas has not forgotten his Warrington roots after becoming Caffè Nero's 'Artist of the Month' for December.

The coffee shop chain pick a singer-songwriter each month that they reckon could be the next big thing

Now Johnny's music will be played in coffee shops up and down the country and the former Bridgewater High School pupil will be travelling from his London home to play live in Warrington's Caffè Nero on Monday.

He said: "It feels weird to go from Glastonbury Festival to a coffee shop but I take the 'Frank Turner' approach to gigs where I don't believe that there's a gig too big or too small. If there's a place that has a demand for my music then I'm there"

Johnny, who grew up in Appleton, has recently enjoyed BBC Radio 1 and 2 airplay for his latest release, The Best Days, and he has already been booked for Glastonbury 2015 on the strength of his performance in the summer.

He added: "The reaction from the crowd was the highlight. It was a perfect audience because everyone was there for the music and you could feel the excitement of Glastonbury in the air as it was about to kick off."

Johnny's live shows are renowned for his inventive use of the loop pedal and he can even count Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page among his fans.

Jimmy said: “I loved what Johnny did with the loop pedal. Watching him perform was like an incredible 5D experience”.

Johnny added: "I met Jimmy at a venue called the Water Rats in Kings Cross and could not believe it. It was one of those where you had to do a double take. I was on such a buzz for weeks afterwards when he said he loved my set."

From performing for troops in Camp Bastion in Afghanistan to touring with Neighbours star Alan Fletcher, Johnny has already had a very interesting career.

But he told Weekend the thing he enjoys most on the road is cooking.

He said: "I have an idea to do like a Hairy Bikers/Bear Grylls sort of documentary where I survive on the road from gig to gig cooking as I go along.

"I could give tips on how to blag my way onto someone's sofa for the night and make a perfect sarnie from the scraps they have in their fridge!"

- Johnny will be performing at Caffè Nero in the town centre on Monday at 3pm

DAVID MORGAN