Josiah and The Bonnevilles (USA) — INTERVIEW ahead of his highly anticipated debut tour across Australia and New Zealand

Formed in 2010, Josiah and the Bonnevilles was born from Leming’s Appalachian roots—his songwriting grounded in raw emotion and unfiltered honesty. Since his debut album On Trial in 2015, Josiah has built a devoted following through tracks like ‘Blood Moon’, ‘Basic Channels’, ‘Stolen Love’, and ‘Burn’, each showcasing his powerful storytelling and emotional depth.

In 2023, his Country Covers album introduced a new audience to his sound, with his rendition of Justin Bieber’s ‘Ghost’ amassing over 70 million streams. He followed it up with performances at major festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, and his critically praised album Endurance, described by Ones To Watch as “cumulative to the literal blood, sweat, and tears shed over the last decade.”

First off, Hey Josiah, Hope you're doing well, where are you writing to us from?

Yo! I am in Nashville Tennessee. I have 2 weeks off of the road before I head to y'all and have been putting some new songs together.

Can you take us back to how Josiah and The Bonnevilles originally came together? Happy for you to give us the short version, up to you!

I believe it was 2014, 2015. I had a record deal when I was 18 with Warner Brothers that had gone kind of south and I could not find a way into a recording studio afterward. So I downloaded Logic on my computer and I had one mic and I started self recording. I made the first JATB album that way, with just one microphone. Then me and 2 great friends of mine started playing the music and at the time I was driving a 2000 Pontiac Bonneville. And the guys were real tall and I took to calling them the Bonnevilles and it stuck. I ended up going out on the road solo for a while, and we had to split. There was no bad blood or anything, just the way life works, I love those guys dearly. For a long while I didn't know what to do with the project, I made the 2nd JATB album and released that during the pandemic but spent a while working in an Amazon warehouse and bartending, and in 2022 I began to get active online and found an amazing group of folks supporting me and they asked if they could be the Bonnevilles to which I said yes, absolutely, you all are the reason for anything I get to do in music. So I wear that Bonnevilles badge proudly, it represents everyone that's been listening and coming to shows. They're a part of this.

You’re about to head down under for your first-ever Australian and New Zealand tour—how does it feel to finally bring your music to this part of the world?

It is truly surreal. I can't wait to be with everyone there and I am gonna put aside every other feeling aside except being there in that moment. It's something that I didn't expect would ever happen, something so many people never get the chance to do.

What are you looking forward to the most about being here in Australia and New Zealand?

For me, beyond all the scenery and seeing new places, this is about people. I love getting to meet as many people as possible, hearing some of their stories, shaking their hands, thanking them and hopefully playing some songs that they can sing along to. That brings me the most joy.

Seeing some of the shows sell out in advance—has that been a surreal or mind-blowing experience for you?

Uh, yes, I don't know that I will never get used to that. It's unlike anything I ever expected and it's a great responsibility to me to give everything I have up there to people who are spending time and money to come out to these shows. It does pain me to see messages of people that weren't able to get a ticket in time. I want everybody who wants to be able to come out to be able to. I'm always asking the venues to let more in if we can.

I first stumbled across ‘Blood Moon’ a few years back—it’s an absolute belter. Has that track made its way overseas and helped build a fanbase for you outside the U.S. do you think?

That song has been such a special one to experience live, for me. I feel like I get to experience it in new ways each different place I play it. I've never had a song like that before, where people wait for it and wait to sing along to it. I feel such a nearness with everybody when I sing it. I am so grateful for the the experience of writing it and getting to play it each night.

You grew up in Morristown, Tennessee. What was that like, and how did it shape your relationship with music and storytelling?

Morristown is in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, the oldest mountain range in the world, they say. You know, I spent the first 16 years of my life trying to break out of that place. Growing up my brother gave me all these brit pop CDs, so for a long time I thought I was born in the wrong place, in the wrong time. It took seeing a lot of the world and living a lot of places to understand where I am from and who I am. And when I hear some mountain music like Ralph Stanley, I have a physical reaction to it. It's hard to explain. Appalachia is a place that you just can't leave, it's in your blood. It's colored everything in my life musical and otherwise.

You’ve just wrapped your first sold-out headline tour in the US and released Endurance (Deluxe) and Country Covers II. What’s next for Josiah and the Bonnevilles after this Australian tour?

JATB album 4. I have been working on nothing else for almost a year now. I head to Alaska for a few final shows after coming to play for y'all and then I'm gonna finish this album for next year. And Lord willing, if people enjoy this one, I will head back on the road again to see all these beautiful people and thank them again. I'm so excited that this is my life, I still cannot believe it.

How important is community—to the band, to your fanbase, and to keeping this whole thing going? + Are there any up-and-coming artists/bands or creatives from your community back home that you'd love our readers to check out?
Catch you in Sydney mate, cannot wait

The community is everything. This is not really about sold out shows, or streams or anything in the music "business", for me music is about kind of making peace with this life that we are living and all of its ups and downs. Not even so much understanding it, but maybe calling it by name. I don't know, I try not to understand too much these days, I don't know if I can. But without the individual people coming together to connect and lift each other up, I don't know what all of this is for. There's some great young artists I have had the joy of listening to and working with. Mon Rovia, Anna Graves, Ken Pomeroy to name a few. Artists are able to tell their own stories these days, without needing approval of gatekeepers and it is a very wonderful thing.

I cannot wait to be there with y'all!! See you soon

Catch Josiah and the Bonnevilles live in Australia and New Zealand this August:

▶ Tuesday 19 August – The Triffid, Brisbane
▶ Wednesday 20 August – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
▶ Thursday 21 August – Howler, Melbourne
▶ Saturday 23 August – The Tuning Fork, Auckland

Tickets via Frontier Touring.