Josh Ross: Ridin' Hearts Festival Is An Opportunity To Say 'A Big Thank You To The Fans Of Australia'

On a cold winter morning, Josh Ross beamed through on Zoom. His presence was propped up by the sweltering heat of Nashville, a ripe 37 degrees Celsius. Despite hailing from Canada, Ross has called Nashville home for the last few years, a decision that has paid off for the artist. 

The disparity in temperature indicates the distance between the famous American Musical city and the southern parts of Australia. But Ross will be covering this very distance in the latter part of this year.

For the first time as a touring musician, Ross is heading out to Australia to play for live audiences. He will be on stage at the premier country festival Ridin’ Hearts on November 2 and 3. The one-day festival dedicated to country music is only in its second year but has achieved much success in its host cities of Sydney and Melbourne.

Ross will also support the widely acclaimed headliner of that festival, Riley Green, at his two shows in Brisbane on October 30 and 31.  

Ross is gearing up to receive a warm welcome from Australian audiences after amassing a keen interest, as evidenced by data extracted from streaming platforms. 

“With all the streaming data, we’ve been able to see that some of the major cities in Australia have been some of my top streaming locations in the world,” says Ross. “It’s really cool and incredible, actually. There’s also been people engaging on socials, whether it be Instagram or messaging me. It’s been so cool to see how far the music has travelled.”

But it isn’t the first time Ross has ventured to Australia; a younger version of himself once travelled across the Pacific.

A very short-lived sojourn, Ross cannot wait to get back, especially considering so much has changed since the wide-eyed teenager went searching for something outside of Canada.

“I've heard such great things about the fans and the festival itself,” he says. “It’s my first time coming to Australia for music. I came when I was 18 but ran out of money quickly, so I had to go back to Canada. It’ll be great to explore more and relate to the fans. I am really looking forward to it.”

Ross’s gratitude and humility shine through. This tour will act as an ode to the support and following that fans in Australia have provided for him.

“This tour is for me to say a big thank you to the fans of Australia. I never thought I would be able to say, while looking at streaming platforms, that my top three cities are from Australia. It really shows how passionate the fans are in Australia, and I'm really looking forward to seeing that.

“I want to embrace that because I’ve heard from a lot of people that have played there just how in touch with the music the fans are. So, we're really looking forward to that.”

This is all on the back of the release of his maiden EP, Complicated, which was released in March of this year. The songs Trouble and’ Ain’t Doin’ Jack have consistently been set amongst his biggest streaming songs each week.

So, Ross is excited to present these songs live, but he is also jubilated to see how his latest single, Want This Beer, featuring Julia Michaels, released earlier this month, and new music will be received. 

“I'm a huge Julia Michaels fan,” says Ross. “I didn't even know that Julia was going to be on the song [Want This Beer]. It was sent as a demo with her voice on it. Once I put my voice on it, we got to send it to her, and she liked it enough that she was willing to release it. We then got to hang out, shoot a video and do all these different kinds of things.”

“But there is also another thing I can tell you: we will be playing some new, unreleased music. It feels good to think that we will be teasing this music to crowds in Australia after how much support they’ve shown me. It’s incredible to see how fans react to new tracks in a live show setting.” 

Ross sometimes marvels at how quickly he has become the artist he is today, but it was his monumental decision to relocate to Nashville from Canada that expanded his musical career. 

“Nashville has always been known for country music,” he says. “But now it's becoming more recognised as a city that hosts songwriters and many musicians who create within different genres. There are also many different genres and crossover songs happening. Artists like Post Malone and others are paving the way for this.

“Country music is still strong here, which is really awesome, but people are also expanding out of country, and that’s allowing a whole new wave of people to make music that has undertones of country, whether that’s pop country or another variation of country. It’s really opened the door up. It's a really interesting time, and I'm just glad to be a part of it.”

But despite country music's open-mindedness and the places it is moving to, Ross hopes that what stays true to the genre is the simple yet vital element of storytelling. 

“My hope is that the lyrical side of country music always stays the same,” he says. That’s the storytelling, whether it’s about what’s going on, talking about a Friday night thing, or the heartbreak kind of songs. I just hope that lyrically, it all stays the same.”

So, as Josh Ross acts as the architect for his musical journey, it’s hard to know where his unique style of storytelling will take him. But following tours with Nickelback, Brantley Gilbert, and Bailey Zimmerman and winning accolades such as the CCMA Breakthrough Artist of the Year, it’s certain there is much yet to come from this artist. 

Josh Ross will appear at Ridin’ Hearts festival this November. You can find tickets to the event here.