Georgia born and raised Josh Courson has already begun making a name for himself, establishing a strong foundation for his music. Courson has been nominated for awards such as Vocalist of the Year from the Josie Awards and Artists of the Year for the Georgia Country Awards. We sat down with him to talk about his first time preforming, dream collaborations and his new unreleased song, “Monopoly.”
Courtesy of Josh Courson
BC: Tell us about your background with music?
JC: “It’s interesting, I didn’t start out as a singer. I started out playing guitar for my sister’s band at sixteen years old, “ Courson laughs. “They said if you learn the guitar, we’ll let you join but I don’t think they actually thought I would,” Josh continues, “She’d let me preform at some venues and It started feeling like something i needed to do. A passion.”
BC: How old were you when you started playing guitar?
JC: “Twelve or Thirteen,” Josh tell us, “Very young.”
BC: What was the first time preforming in front of a live audience like?
JC: “I remember it pretty vividly. It was absolutely nerve wracking,” Josh spills, “It was with my sister at an acoustic show. A lot of butterflies in my stomach, I could hardly move on stage.” He continues, “Almost the complete opposite as to where i am now. When I started getting into my solo stuff It started getting easier.”
BC: Is there something you do now before a show if you get nervous?
JC: “Oh Pray.” Courson says without a beat, “I definitely pray. I just talk to people too. Getting their names, connecting with them (people in the audience) I’m there to entertain. It’s always easier when I know who I’m entertaining.”
BC: What a great way to get in touch with your fans too, who are your musical inspirations?
JC: “This is going to sound a little corney, so forgive me,” Courson chuckles, “I’m a big fan of Elvis,” Courson says, “But for modern artists; Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Braid Paisley. I’m a big fan of 90’s country. Getting into some of the new stuff, Thomas Rhett. I also am a big fan of Daughtrey, Maroon 5.” Josh says, “In fact “PayPhone,” was the first song I learned to play on guitar.”
BC: So many great artists who have great songs! What would be a cover you’d like to preform live?
JC: “There’s a lot of great songs! I would say, Luke Combs…..” Josh says, “Maybe, “Beer Never Broke My Heart”. I’d love to see peoples reactions to that.”
BC: You have such an array of artists that are inspirations and artists you listen to, so was the genre of country music always been what you wanted to be in as a singer?
JC: “I mean…..it’s transitioned. Country (Music) was the original route. It’s kind of veered to Rock and Roll as I’ve gotten older.” Josh tells us, “My late grandfather was big into Southern Rock and since he’s passed that’s been a big influence on my music. Knowing thats what he enjoyed, I’ve kind of mixed that in with country.”
BC: We talked about your inspirations, the genre of music now we have to ask - Who is your dream collaboration?
JC: “I’d have to say Luke Combs. He’s a phenomenal writer. There are so many talented artists out there. It’s hard to just choose one. I’d love a collaboration write with him.” Courson tell us, “(Jason) Hamor is an absolutely killer writer too.”
BC: How would you describe your music in three words?
JC: “Energetic. Foot-work. Guitar.” Courson says, “(On playing guitar)I’m not as good as some of these guys. I mean some of these guys can absolutely shred it but it’s one of the aspects of my music.”
BC: What’s your favorite part about being an artist and then what’s something that is difficult?
JC: “I’ll get the hard part out of the way first,” Courson laughs, “There’s a lot of work that goes into it but I can definitely tell you my favorite part about being an artist is that when people reach out to me about something I didn’t even know I did or something i really wasn’t paying much attention to at the time and they share with me how impactful that was. I just loved the fact I’m able to make a positive impact one some people’s lives and that’s just really really awesome.”
BC: What do you want an audience to take away from your music?
JC: “Well, I’m a Christian.” Josh says, “I don’t want to be pushy, an in your face christian but I do want people to understand that’s a part of it. It comes through a lot in my music. It definitely speaks to the brokenness in people. Letting people know if you’re Here For The Beer if you’re in a bad spot, it happens.” Josh continues, “There’s a lot more people in this situation than people realize and it’s relatable. You don’t have to stay there.”
BC: Being a Christian, have you ever thought of putting out Christian music?
JC: “Oh yeah definitely! At some point I would love to do that.” Josh tells us, “I’ve gotten asked this question by Hamor actually. I don’t know if me, as a person is built to do all worship music but I can see myself releasing a couple of worship songs.” Courson continues, “It has that cycle affect where it’s like, “Hey we all have issues, we’re all broken, that’s just something that happens but then here’s a solution to it.:
BC: Your new song, “Monopoly” is being released May 21st, what else can we expect along with this release?
JC: “I can tell you that with Monopoly there’s a couple things. Ive been potentionally looking into a music video coming out for that one and there’s another song in the works. Definitley have some some for social media soon!”
BC: Before we let you go Josh, can you tell us about “Monopoly”?
JC: “I will say, “Monopoly” and “Here For The Beer” are very similar in concept. My first song (HFTB) it’s the most ironic song ever. It’s actually a heartbreak song but has an upbeat feel to it. “Monopoly” is actually a heart break song but laughing in hindsight so to speak.” Josh says, “Kind of looking back on the relationship and laughing like, ‘why did i get so caught up in that relationship?’
BC: How did “Monopoly” come about?
JC: “I’ll say first Hamor is a brilliant songwriter. We actually got to go in these songs and he brought this song up, (Monopoly) was an older song actually. When I was younger he brought this one up. We started looking at it (again.) With him it’s always super edgy, its always straight forward but also unique. It was one of those situations we had that song.”
“We worked with Jason Wyatt and Elliot Denner (On Monopoly) and these guys are phenomenal. I know there wasn’t a long of stuff I wasn’t thinking about menanohcly or song structure wise that they were able to give me some insight too. When we got done with it, i was so excited. It blew my mind how awesome they were able to take that track and turn it into something.”
BC: If you’re allowed to tell us, what is your favorite line from Monopoly?
JC: “The line that kind of describes it best would be the bridge, it says, “I’d rather go straight to jail than ever get back with you and I’m sure you’ll feel the same soon as your through.”