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Event Details
Josh A – The Live Show Experience w/ special guest Justin Stone
Expectations exist to be subverted. As a singer, songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Josh A gives audiences what they
want -- and what they didn't know they wanted as well. His malleable
hybrid of hip-hop, rock, and electronic encases an enriched emotional
core that bleeds truth through the cracks between guitar melodies and
808 slaps. By appealing directly and unapologetically to the heart, he
has quietly amassed over 720 million streams and 202 million views
under-the-radar. Now, the self-described "workaholic nicotine addict with very high highs and very low lows" promises the unexpected on a series of 2021 singles and more projects on the horizon.
"When I was growing up and making music, my dad always told me to give
people something they didn't know they wanted," he explains. "I always
think about that. Doing the unexpected is appreciated even more than the
expected. I don't go two days without making a song, and I'm always
trying to pursue a different sound from what's out there and from what
I've done in the past."
The Ocala, FL native immediately gravitated towards music. Home video
footage captured him dancing to Michael Jackson, while his firefighter
father introduced him to Nirvana as a kid. Dad passed down a custom
Montoya acoustic guitar nearly three decades old, and it became his
instrument of choice at the age of eight. Obsessed with grunge and
alternative a la Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, he even attempted to
learn guitar left-handed to emulate Kurt Cobain. At 14-years-old, he
started to produce electronic dance music under the influence of
Skrillex. Early compositions gained traction online and would eventually
be collated in 2015's aptly titled The Oldies.
However, this exercise really paved the way for him to rap and sing.
"Making EDM was a huge help, because I learned how to produce," he
explains. "Gaining this experience helped me transition into rap pretty
easily. I never wanted to get too comfortable. I was always open to
taking risks, even if they didn't work out. It was like an adrenaline
rush to take a risk that worked out though."
Picking up the microphone, he dropped his first full rap tune "Right
Now" during 2015. It gradually eclipsed 1 million YouTube views in the
span of a few months. Around the same time, he ditched Santa Fe
Community College and took a job at movie theater, while he constantly
wrote, produced, and recorded music. Through dropping early projects
such as The Flow Awakens, Blessed, Retroland, and Blessed II, he discovered a voice of his own at the nexus of cloud rap, alternative rock, and bedroom-born electro.
"I was definitely the quiet kid in class," he admits. "I had maybe three
friends in high school. I never had a lot of people to talk to about my
problems. Music gave me that platform. It's where I can be loud
compared to everyday life. I'm a quiet dude, but I can be aggressive and
get out all of my feelings when I'm recording and performing."
That catharsis defined a series of breakthrough anthems. "Suicidal
Thoughts" with iamjakehill amassed just shy of 100 million Spotify
streams. Highlighting 2019's Fearless mixtape, "Pain"
registered 41 million Spotify streams and the title track "Fearless"
clocked another 22 million Spotify streams in addition to inspiring
hundreds of thousands of Tik Tok videos. In between putting up numbers
online, he packed shows coast-to-coast. After his most recent 2019 tour,
he chronicled and confronted an all-consuming and worsening battle with
addiction on Disgrace and You're Not Alone.
"Disgrace was exactly how I felt," he confesses. "I was a
complete loser, taking drugs and abusing them. It was the height of my
addiction. Afterwards, I pressed pause on You're Not Alone. I
talked about why I was depressed. Now, I feel like I have all of my
personal stuff out the way, and I want to make feel-good music that can
touch more people. It's still me though."
In order to do that, he started working with engineer and co-producer
Andrew Wade [A Day To Remember, Wage War] in 2021. Together, they
incorporated electric guitar and widened the sonic palette. "I've always wanted to make sounds like these, but I never had the resources to do it well," he goes on. "We're infusing Andrew's expertise and veering into new territory."
On the heels of "PAIN," this vision came into focus with the 2021 single
"CALIFORNIA." On the track, a distorted riff gives way to nimble rhymes
before his sweeping and soaring chant takes flight, "In California, my demons follow me. It's so hard to get some sleep."
"Back in January 2020, I did my last show before the Pandemic in
California," he recalls. "I relapsed, and it put me back into this
shitty mindset. Californians are not really my speed, because I'm from
Florida. I feel like a lot of them are fake or chasing clout. No matter
where I go, I'm going to face the urge to drink or pop pills. On the
flight back home, I was driven to change my life. That's what the song
is about."
In the end, Josh A's music might just have not only what we want, but we need as well.
"I want to write timeless songs," he leaves off. "The main goal is to
make music that lasts a while. I hope this music can speak to any
decade."
Vinyl Music Hall Policies
General Admission * Standing Room Only * If Any Seating Is Available, It Will Be On A Strictly First Come-First Serve Basis * All Ages * Additional $5 Cash Surcharge At The Door For Under 21 * Attendees Under 16 Must Be Accompanied By A Ticketed, Adult Guardian * Lineups and times are subject to change * Any ticket suspected of being purchased for the sole purpose of reselling can be canceled at the discretion of Vinyl Music Hall and/or SeeTickets * No refunds - No exceptions * No re-entry.
Event Location
Vinyl Music Hall
2 S Palafox St, Pensacola, FL, 32502
Talent
Josh A
Justin Stone