Raised in Pantymwyn, he started to play guitar at an early age, taking inspiration from groups such as My Bloody Valentine, the Stone Roses and U2.

Buckland has a 2:1 degree in astronomy and mathematics from University College London, where he formed Coldplay along with Chris Martin, Guy Berryman and Will Champion.

[7] He was encouraged to acquire further experience on the guitar by his brother Tim, who shared works from George Harrison, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Sonic Youth, the Stone Roses and U2 with him.

[13] Moreover, the guitarist stated that one night when his friends were playing in a field, they had an encounter with an angry sheep which attacked him multiple times.

[14] His education was continued at University College London, where he attained a 2:1 degree in astronomy and mathematics and formed Coldplay with Chris Martin, Guy Berryman and Will Champion.

[b] The previous group name was dropped when Champion scheduled their debut live performance at The Laurel Tree only a few days after he became part of the band, with Starfish being chosen "in a panic".

[25] They stated in 2019 that Buckland is usually the first to either disapprove or give his input on Martin's initial song ideas,[26] although he was responsible for starting tracks like "Adventure of a Lifetime" on his own, which was released as the lead single for their seventh album A Head Full of Dreams (2015).

[27] Despite not being the group's most prominent backing vocalist, he can be heard in many songs and provided lead vocals in "Don't Panic", the opening track of Parachutes (2000).

[30] They later recorded "Beach Chair" for Jay-Z's ninth album, Kingdom Come (2006),[31] and were featured in Slashed (2010), an independent horror film directed by Northern Irish band Ash.

[7] His use of slide bar have a stylistic chiming and ringing timbre which has led to comparisons to the Edge,[40] who commented during an interview at Glastonbury that "Jonny is an inspiration to guitar players everywhere, I am proud to know that I was one of his main influences.

[7] In 2020, he shared on social media playlists with some of his favourite tracks and artists from each decade, including the Velvet Underground, Carole King, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Kate Bush, Donna Summer, Björk, Beastie Boys and various others.

[45] In 2007, his older brother Tim founded alternative rock group The Domino State, which opened for Coldplay on Viva la Vida Tour (2008–10).

[49] His great-grandfather formed a band named Vic Buckland's Dance Orchestra between the late 1910s and early 1920s, a photograph of them was used as an inspiration for the album cover and vintage aesthetics seen on Everyday Life (2019).