New Album Long Way From Las Cruces out November 12
Today, Texas-by-way-of-New Mexico artist Josh Grider released “Life’s A Party,” the new single from his upcoming record Long Way From Las Cruces out November 12
“Don’t let its title fool you: Josh Grider’s new song ‘Life’s a Party’ is deeper than those three words let on,” said The Boot. “The sentimental, traditional-leaning love song [is] built around a unique metaphor… Grider describes this life-long celebration over acoustic and steel guitars, the latter played by Zach Moulton of Mike and the Moonpies. The chorus perfectly expresses, within the song’s story, how the people who change our lives forever come into it in the first place.”
Listen to “Life’s A Party” HERE
Explaining the origins of the song, Grider continues, “Bobby Hamrick, Jamie Floyd, and I wrote ‘Life’s A Party’ a couple years ago. Jamie brought the idea in and it struck a nerve with everyone in the room, and we knew it was special as soon as we’d finished it. The song has been in and out of the hands of George Strait, Reba McEntyre, and Randy Rogers Band. For whatever reason it just didn’t end up getting cut, so when it came time to make Long Way From Las Cruces it was a no brainer (Jamie also released a beautiful version of this tune in 2020). We didn’t track the initial session with steel, but the song was just begging for it, so Adam Odor (engineer) made a call to Zach Moulton (Mike and the Moonpies) and he came in and just nailed it. I think ‘Life’s a Party’ is one of the best examples in my career of song and production coming together to make something greater than the sum its parts.”
Recorded at the legendary Yellow Dog Studios in Wimberly, TX, Long Way From Las Cruces is a celebration of life’s silver linings, an ode to all the ups and downs and twists and turns that have shaped the critically acclaimed journeyman’s 20-year career. “In spite of all the turmoil we may face on a daily basis, there’s peace and contentment to be found wherever you are if you choose to look for it,” Grider reflects. “I believe I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
By the time the pandemic hit and forced him off the road, Grider was well into writing what would become Long Way From Las Cruces, so he leaned into the empty calendar to finish work on the songs and reflect on what really mattered.
“I started reading a lot of stoic philosophy and thinking about the things that were truly important to me in my life,” he explains. “Turning 40 has you doing that already, and then you add in a global pandemic and all the political turmoil and it just makes you want to double down on spending time with the people you love and care about.”
Working with a tight knit crew of longtime friends and collaborators, Grider produced the record himself, and the chemistry and camaraderie is palpable in the band’s raw, rootsy performances, which overflow with all the joy and electricity of true human connection. That’s not to say Long Way From Las Cruces is all sunshine and blue skies, though. Like any timeless country record, the album tackles its fair share of longing and loneliness and heartache, but it never veers into despair, instead pressing forward with resilience and determination at every turn.
Over the years, Grider has been praised by Wide Open Country, Taste of Country, Lone Star Music, San Antonio Express-News, That Nashville Sound, and many more. In 2018, he released his fourth full-length studio album, Good People, after a successful crowdfunding campaign; in 2019, he began mentoring and producing a rising young Texas artist named Gunnar Latham; and in 2020, he released a pair of duo EPs, one with fellow singer/songwriter Drew Kennedy under the moniker Topo Chico Cowboys, and another with his wife, Kristi, who also tours and performs as a solo artist.
Grider is also playing a number of shows throughout Texas over the next few months. See full list of tour dates below.
Josh Grider Tour Dates:
October 30 – Austin, TX @ Saxon Pub
November 12 – Hunt, TX @ The Hunt Store
November 13 – The Woodlands, TX @ Dosey Doe Big Barn
November 17-21 – Austin, TX @ Traveling Red River Songwriters
December 4 – Fort Worth, TX @ The Post at River East
May 3 – San Angelo, TX @ House of Fifi Dubois
Long Way From Las Cruces tracklist:
1. Long Way From Las Cruces
2. Thank God It’s Raining
3. Life’s A Party
4. Missing You
5. Two Truths And A Lie
6. Wanting What You Get
7. I Know I Love You