Bio
Bio
Josh Brooks knows how to write a song. From 2001's I Have Tried to Run to his critically acclaimed 2014 release tall tales, Brooks has evolved into a craftsman and poet-philosopher in the spirit of his idols Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Johnny Cash and John Prine. Dreams, barroom conversations, Greek myths, unsavory public figures- it's all fodder for Brooks' trademark wit and wonder. A grade school teacher and father of three by day, on stage Brooks is one part troubadour, one part stand-up comic, and one part storyteller. With a rock-solid guitar style and a voice that can croon, snarl, plead, and soothe, Brooks effortlessly traverses the Americana spectrum, from folk ballad to honky-tonk to folk rock to talking blues.
Brooks got his start in the late 90's at Jeff Miller's Burlington Coffeehouse open mic, where he studied at the feet of the amazing songwriters- both local and traveling through- who called the place home. Over the years, Brooks has opened for some of the biggest names in folk music, including Tom Rush, Anais Mitchell, Shawn Mullins, Stacey Earle, David Olney, Ellis Paul, Patti Casey, and Diane Ziegler. Josh has played in venues around the northeast, including: the Falconridge Folk Festival Emerging Songwriters' Showcase, Caffe Lena, the Gotta Get Gon Festival and Saugerties Sunset Series in New York; Roots on the River, The Champlain Valley Folk Festival, Middle Earth Music Hall and Flying Under the Radar Series in Vermont; and Acoustic Cafe, Off-the-Square Coffeehouse and Simple Gifts Coffeehouse in New Hampshire.
In 2004, Brooks was named a Horizon Award winner by the New Hampshire Country Music Association. Lesson Learned was named one of Vermont's best albums of 2009 by the Burlington Free Press. Brooks' 2014 release tall tales received a similar honor from Seven Days, as well as a 2015 Barre-Montpelier Times Argus Tammie Award for 'The Ballad of Heather Homewrecker'. In 2016, Josh won the Advance Music Acoustic Singer / Songwriter contest at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT.
For booking, press info and schedule, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/joshbrooksmusicvt/home
To stream or download music, visit: www.joshbrooks.bandcamp.com