Josh

I loved music from a really young age and was obsessed with Elvis and Rock ’n’ Roll from the age of 10. Even at a time when I was listening to the pop music of the day I was also into Ray Charles and all the great American music genres. Around that same time I started joining my Dad and Step Mum at shows, they would play in pubs and blues clubs and I would go along, a life that quickly gave me my introduction to the gigging lifestyle. I knew that was the life I wanted for myself.

As I passed into my teenage years I discovered punk, ska, hardcore and all manner of angry, politically charged music and I loved it. I formed a band with some friends and by the time we were 17 we were regularly gigging. That band took me all across Europe, exploring countries I’d never seen, playing stages in squats, boats in the middle of Paris and huge venues in Berlin. It was high energy, impassioned and a lot of fun.

I did that for about 10 years before I started being drawn to the sincerity, openness and vulnerability that folk music encapsulates. I was in awe of artists who were able to step onto a stage on their own and bare all. I had been covering up a lot through bravado, anger and a big stage show, I was ready to strip it back and be honest and raw in my songs. This led me to writing a lot of songs about a particularly hard period of my life, the EP ‘Tired’ documented a big break up and the death of a close friend.

Not long after starting to play shows on my own Carly and I began playing music together, I loved the way that her harmonies were able to add a melodic aspect to my raw but sometimes gruff sounding songs. We quickly decided to take it seriously and I was back out on the road again being able to play music in a way that always seemed too daunting, watching those acoustic artists from the side of stage.

As well as music, I’m also a silversmith and am lucky enough to live on a small farm where I make handcrafted jewellery from our humble trailer.