Jonny on the Spot

"I've been listening to a lot of Stevie Wonder mostly," Lang reports. "Music of My Mind is my favorite. Really, he's my favorite songwriter. And my favorite singer. I've never gotten to perform with him, but my own stuff is really influenced by his sound. In fact, if I put out an album of the stuff I've been writing recently, everybody would go: 'What the hell is that?' It's almost, like, soul-folk."

There is one other little goal that Lang has been quietly pursuing: a high school diploma. "With me being on the road so much, I've had to get, like, you know, a private tutor. But pretty soon here I'm going to be graduating."

Before that, though, he has a string of headlining concert dates (Houston marked his last appearances with the Stones), including a trio of Florida shows, one in West Palm Beach. You know, standard high school senior-year stuff. "I just have to keep telling myself I'm very lucky," Lang says. "The important thing for me right now is to make the right decisions and keep the focus on my music."

Jonny Lang performs Sunday, March 1, at 8:00 p.m. at the Carefree Theater, 2000 S Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach; 561-833-7305. The show is sold out.