A lot like starting over.
“I’ve been writing songs for a long time, but I could not have made this album in my 20’s.”
That’s the first thing he wants you to know when you ask Josh Queen about his forthcoming studio album Things You Tell the People You Love.
Queen has been writing songs and playing shows for over 20 years. Through the years, he has played hundreds of shows, shared stages with national touring acts, had songs placed in numerous television shows, and has received accolades as both a songwriter and a performer. He has released three EP’s, two as a solo artist (2003’s This Is Me Moving On and a Self-Titled EP in 2005) and one as a part of the songwriting duo The Jealous Kind (2010).
But almost none of that really matters to him now. “In a lot of ways, where I’m at now is really like starting over,” says Queen.
Growing up in small-town South Carolina, Queen picked up the guitar at an early age and spent most of his formative years playing music either in bands or as a solo artist. In 2006, a cross-country move brought Queen and his wife out west to Colorado, where he quickly worked to establish himself in a growing singer-songwriter scene in Denver.
Becoming a father in 2010 shifted Queen’s focus away from playing live shows and towards crafting songs for television and media opportunities. Collaborating with longtime friend and Nashville based songwriter, Dave Wright, the duo released an EP and subsequent singles under the moniker The Jealous Kind between 2010 and 2014, finding placements on various television networks.
As life has a way of doing, Queen found himself wandering away from music in the following years – playing the occasional live show and focusing more time on his family. But like the rest of the world, he spent the early months of 2020 huddled inside his house. He used the newfound time to pick up his guitar, to finally teach himself piano, and to write upwards of 25 songs – which would ultimately provide the bulk of the material for the new album.
Scheduled for release in late summer of 2021, Things You Tell The People You Love captures the songwriter at his best, and perhaps most comfortable. Queen’s ability to wrap up his often personal lyrics inside undeniably catchy melodies lands the album somewhere between a 70’s confessional singer-songwriter effort and a Room For Squares-era John Mayer.
“I read something recently that said people don’t make albums anymore unless they have something to say.” says Queen. “I think it just took me 20 years to really find that voice.”