Jonny Fritz is used to being out of his element. The Montana-born country music performer has spent a good chunk of the past decade touring, but his stops aren't the usual destinations for someone calling Nashville home. He has played every state in America, as well as shows across Europe, Argentina and India.

"Even though my music is pretty acutely American in its content, it's really much more fun to bring that to the rest of the world, to see which parts of which songs resonate with which people," he says. "It's a lot more fun for me, knowing that my audience doesn't understand me."

He'll feel right at home next week when he plays gigs around Tokyo, in intimate venues in Shimokitazawa and Golden Gai. It's a rare chance to catch country music in the capital from an artist who recently played California's Stagecoach festival, the country music-equivalent of Coachella.