Biography

RADIO PROMOTION BY Art Menius Radio
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Juneau, Alaska-based Josh Fortenbery is a gravel-voiced singer and guitarist who writes like a poet and moves between genres with ease. His debut album, 'No Such Thing as Forever' (March 8), explores country, folk, and bluegrass, while wrestling with modern anxiety, self-doubt and complicated family dynamics.

Throughout the 12 songs on 'No Such Thing as Forever,' Fortenbery's keen eye for lyrical detail closely examines his ennui and existential dread, with scattered dashes of humor. The album is steeped in community and place. Fortenbery—who lived in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Mexico, and Oregon before settling in his adopted hometown—secured a grant from the local arts council, then recruited fellow Alaskan Justin Smith as his co-producer after hearing his work on Annie Bartholomew’s 'Sisters of White Chapel.' Smith loaded his collection of boutique mics and handmade analog studio equipment on a truck and ferried his gear east to Juneau, where the public radio station lent them studio space. All of the musicians on the album live in Southeast Alaska, and many are members of the traditional bluegrass band in which Fortenbery moonlights.

“I’m just trying to be honest about my grief, anxiety, and carelessness, and hope that resonates with people,” he says. "I think a lot of folks feel disconnected from the world, not only because of the physical isolation over the last few years but also the increasing digital and cultural isolation we’ve slid into over the last decade. I’m trying to remember what ties me to the folks I love and folks I’ve never met.”