Who Is Josh Ross? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

As ya’ll know, we love championing new artists in country music. Today, we get to introduce you to Josh Ross, an incredible singer-songwriter from Ontario, Canada. We chatted with Ross about his journey, his move to Nashville, and his current new music, out now.

“I’ve always loved music. […] It’s a big part of my family,” began the singer. Although his father loved Rock & Roll and his mother loved artists like U2 and Bruce Springsteen, Ross’ first love was the country music genre. “I had a family friend that introduced me to Steve Earle’s music when I was five or six years old,” shared the singer. “I was kind of that weird kid in high school listening to Steve Earle’s music and friends were like what is this, but by the time I got to 12th grade, country music ended up being cool.”

Despite an early love for music, Ross focused on sports during his upbringing. In another life, the singer played hockey, was a professional motocross rider, and even played college football. After some unfortunate injuries kept him sidelined, Ross gravitated towards music. “When I was in my first year of college, a buddy of mine actually had a guitar and I would just sing along, and I started to realize I wasn’t half as bad as I thought.”

From there on, Ross would play music for fun, whether it be singing karaoke or playing at small coffee shops. Eventually, he got entered into an Emerging Artists Festival in Ontario, which led him to bigger stages and a newfound dream. “I went from playing a coffee shop on a Thursday to I got entered into this festival, and got into the top 8 of this, and on Friday, I got to play for close to 7000, 8000 people, and that was my first real show.”

The Turning Point:

The festival and his supporters convinced Ross that he had what it took to succeed in the country music industry. “It was a big eyeopener to find myself as an artist, figure out what I wanted to say, and what I wanted to sound like,” he shared. Ross was encouraged to head to Nashville to work on crafting his skills as a songwriter. After several trips back and forth, the singer decided to relocate to music city.

“I just knew that I needed to surround myself there and if you want to be the best, you have to be around the best,” shared Ross, adding later, “Nashville is one of those special places, where I can go to the house next door and that guy is a great guitar player and I go to the next house, and that guy makes tracks and stuff.”

Since 2018, Ross has worked hard at crafting his songwriting talent and discovering his own type of artistry. Combining his love of many genres, he has cultivated a sound that is all his own. “In a weird way, I think I always wrote music without knowing it. When I was a kid, I would write in a binder and write down stories about what was going on in my life,” shared the singer, when asked about his desire to write his own music. He also added, “There’s definitely an emotional side and a fun side, and I think that really translates to what I want to say, and something that people can relate to.”

Today:

With just a few songs out, Ross has already shown fans that he is the real deal. Most recently, the singer-songwriter released his first ballad, a song called “First Taste of Gone” Written by Ross with Mason Thornley, the song conveys a personal and heartbreaking message. It depicts the feelings we all go through when we finally get to the point, where a relationship is truly over. Vocally driven, Ross’ voice is the perfect combination of gravelly and strong. Lyrically, the song is poignant and deeply emotive.

According to Ross, “I was going through a lot in my life and my personal life with changes. […] It was just one of those songs where I felt like you have that moment where you have to go out again without that person, and it’s a weird feeling being like “well, I don’t have to call someone when I go home tonight” or “she’s not going to be there.”

With each and every release, Ross is cultivating his own sound, clearly influenced by his love of pop-punk music, current industry hitmakers, (HARDY, Morgan Wallen, Thomas Rhett) and rock elements. We look forward to more new music from the singer, coming later this year! Be on the lookout and keep Ross on your radar.

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