Nathan Johnston Music

Blending the grit of the blues, laid back folk and the heart of classic soul, Nathan Johnston is part crooner, part storyteller - crafting songs that sit somewhere between retro and modern but with a timeless appeal.

Hailing from Mullingar in Ireland, Johnston first made waves under the alias Sion Hill, touring Europe with acts like Pete Doherty, A-ha, and Alice Merton.

After moving to Berlin in 2016, Johnston adopted the moniker ‘Sion Hill’, as a homage to his Irish roots and the road he lived on in Dublin.

In 2016, Johnston was signed to independent record label ‘Clouds Hill’ in Hamburg and released his debut record, Sion Hill - Elephant, in August 2017. It was dubbed by MYP magazine as:

- “A brilliant, spontaneous-sounding piece of solo-male pop with some 60’s elements and carefully used jazz skills—all wrapped in a handsome-but-never-too-slick dandy look.” - Katharina Weiß

His first single 'Nothing's Wrong with Loving You' was featured in Spotify Germany's 'New Music Friday' and the Irish Times ‘Song of the week.’ In 2017 he toured Ireland, the UK and Germany, played Electric Picnic Music Festival, Cardinal Sessions. He has supported; A-ha!, Jim James, St. Paul & the Broken bones, Alice Merton, Lilly Among Clouds & Peter Doherty (of Babyshambles; The Libertines.)

2019 saw Johnston release, 'Fuel Kids,' his first single of almost 2 years through Warner Music Germany. The song has surpassed 1 million streams on Spotify and gained massive radio attention in Ireland, being featured as 'Song of the week' across multiple stations and featuring in New Music Friday UK. Sion Hill went on to play to a sold out crowd in The Sugar Club in Dublin in December 2019.

His first release of 2020, 'Last Minute,' has been featured as one of the top 5 songs you need to hear this January on Irish blog, entertainment.ie and has garnered almost 1 million streams in 4 months (now 3mill). The song was produced by Rich Turvey (Blossoms, The Coral) and speaks about Johnston's 'live in the moment' lifestyle.

In May 2020, Sion Hill was chosen to represent Ireland in the FREE European Song Contest. Performing his new single, 'Speak Up' for an audience of 4 million viewers and coming in the top 10. The song speaks about opening up about anxiety and mental health issues and has gained significant radio attention across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
In 2022, Johnston bought back the rights to his songs from his former record label and went independent. He reintroduced himself under his own name with the album, ‘Nathan Johnston & The Angels of Libra'’ - a collaboration with the Hamburg-based 10-piece soul collective that drew comparisons to Khruangbin, Anderson .Paak, and classic Stax Records.

Their debut single “Angel Of Libra” earned heavy rotation on Germany’s Radio Eins, while the follow-up 'All Your Love' brought Johnston to BBC Radio 6’s Funk & Soul Show and playlists across Europe. The full-length album, released on Waterfall Records, landed multiple 'Album of the Year' credits and a successful European tour.

2023/24 saw Johnston move back to Dublin and release a string of genre-blending singles, from the Northern Soul-inspired ‘Barbara’ to the dreamy, folk-soul of ‘Warm Milk.’ He toured frequently across Europe with Angels of Libra with sold out shows in Hamburg, Amsterdam and Berlin. Johnston brought the band to Ireland for an independently booked tour with sold out shows in Dublin and his hometown Mullingar as well as performing at Electric Picnic music festival. Johnston also toured solo around Europe and the UK as well as playing weekly gigs around Dublin.

January 2026 saw the release of a brand new Angels of Libra album, 'Road to Mandalay,' which has already had significant airplay across Europe, received stellar reviews and saw the band venture into a more light and breezy sound.

Johnston is now working on a new solo record with guitarist/producer Sebastian Nagle (The Winston Brothers) that will see him returning to what he knows best - raw vocals, guitar and plenty of soul.