GARDINER — Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center on Water Street will present

: Guitar Man at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17.

Intense, unique, authentic and a consummate performer, this blues singer-songwriter has wowed audiences and earned standing O’s around the globe and here at home in Maine. James returns to Johnson Hall after a dynamite sold-out concert last winter that inspired three enthusiastic encores from loyal and new fans alike.

James, a descendant of several generations of entertainers, is a multi-instrumentalist; he plays the banjo, harmonica and piano. It is as a guitarist and songwriter, though, that he has earned the highest accolades, having been compared to Jimi Hendrix and Leonard Cohen. He has four albums to his credit, Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy (2008), For Rosa, Maeve and Noreen (2009), And for the Dark Road Ahead (2012) and the newest album, Aphorisms, Bumper Stickers, Truths and Rhymes (2014). All four have been lauded by critics for both his innovation and mastery as a musician and his honoring of the legacy of traditional blues storytelling.

Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors and $5 for children 17 and under. For more information, visit www.johnsonhall.org or call 207-582-7144.