Josh Grider is sitting in a pretty good spot right now. Well, I'm not sure about this very moment, but when I had a chance to talk to him he was sitting on a bus outside of The Blue Light Live in Lubbock TX as well as sitting high on both Texas music charts with his single "Lone Star Highway." He was in the middle of a month long promo tour with his partners from the Troubadour, TX TV show Zane Williams & Matt Caldwell.
Josh may seem like a relatively new name to a lot of you but he has actually been playing music for the better part of seven years. He has a number of quality albums to his credit but the one that seems to have opened up a new stage in his career was his Live At Billy Bob's record.
Josh was the first winner of the Live At Billy Bob's contest in 2011. After that record released a series of events seemed to snowball and his career gained a ton of momentum leading him to where he sits today. According to Josh it all began with a chance meeting with Wade Bowen when they both played the Texas Red Dirt Road show in late 2011.
Josh explained "after the show Wade pulled me aside and told me he really liked what I was doing and wanted me to meet his manager." He went on to explain that from that introduction he got a publishing deal and a management deal and that all lead to the Troubadour, TX TV show. He also told me that when he looks back on all the things that have happened over the last year or so he attributes it to being on that TXRDR show with Wade Bowen.
When the talk came to his music and his influences he credited his dad for introducing him to the country classics like Haggard, Willie and Waylon. And specifically remembered Ricky Skaggs and Alabama as some of the artists that struck a cord with him through their writing. He admitted that the only thing he ever wanted to do was music. That there was never a "I'll try this for a while" mentality and I believe that shows in his success today.
The one thing that impressed me as I talked to Josh was his humbleness. Never was it more obvious when we talked about his goals for his music. Not selling out stadiums, not money or fame. Josh wants a #1 song. But he doesn't even care if he sings it. He explained to me "that my ultimate goals are writing related, I would love to have my name attached to a #1 song. Even if someone else records it and sees value in what I wrote that's extremely flattering."
Josh and his Troubadour, TX team will be the first guests on the live shows for TXRDR this Sunday. They will be in studio live with Justin so tune in wherever you can. If it isn't on your local radio dial go stream it. If you like what you hear right here or like what you hear on Sunday, make sure you go pick it up. Grider's latest EP The Gettin' There and his Live At Billy Bob's record are both very solid. Chocked full of music, songs and stories you can't help but sing along to both should be in your music collection, and soon.
For more on Josh go here
For more on Troubadour, TX TV go here
Til next time...
Brandon Meyers
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