B lame it on his roots – he’s gone country
Josh Harris’s life was beginning to sound like a country song.
His dreams of making it big in sports hadn’t quite panned out, he was struggling to find work, he found himself homeless and sleeping in his truck.
And, then a chance meeting with an old friend, lots of luck and being in the right place at the right time with the right people has him chasing his dream of making country music.
“It hardly seems real, but it’s great! Sometimes I just have to pinch myself and make sure I’m not dreaming. In fact, I’m living my dream,” said Harris. “I look around me backstage at concerts that have 10 times more in attendance than live (in Pierce County).
Harris grew up in Pierce County and graduated from PCHS in 2011. His parents, Tyrone and Dr. Anita Williams Harris, raised him and his siblings, T.J. and Tynisha in a loving home and a nurturing community of extended family and friends.
Harris did well in school and was an accomplished athlete in football and basketball.
After high school, his plans of pursuing a career in sports didn’t come to fruition.
“I worked and tried to find my way, but it didn’t quite work out,” he said. “Things were not going well.”
Along the way, Harris got down to barely getting by.
“I was sleeping in my truck in a parking lot,” he said.
Harris credits his grandmother, Mary Johnson, with keeping him motivated and teaching him to not give up.
“She was there for me when I was homeless and when I wanted to give up and was one of the few people who actually believed I could make it,” Harris says.
“She taught me the values of keeping God first in all of my endeavors and so far He has been a blessing. It’s important to continue and never give up to make sure I keep my promise to her. Whenever I do get my first big award, I will thank her even though she isn’t with us anymore,” Harris says.
Not giving up, paid off in ways he didn’t expect.
A chance reconnection with Ray Drew set Harris on a new path — and helped him chase a dream he didn’t even know he had.
Drew is a former University of Georgia Bulldog football defensive end who Harris encountered one evening.
“I knew I knew him, but it took a while before it clicked.”
Harris and Drew had roomed together at basketball camp in high school and even got in to a raucous pillow fight during their time together.
“We were fast friends and one night he invited me to Luke’s house,” Harris relates.
Luke as in country superstar and fellow Georgia native Luke Bryan. Bryan was a big Bulldogs fan and was helping Drew get noticed by potential NFL scouts.
“I didn’t have anything better to do. In fact, I barely had a place to stay. And, this is Luke Bryan he is talking about.”
Bryan was not at home when Drew and Harris got there, but the country singer got home the next day after performing at the Dallas Cowboys football game.
“I wasn’t as star struck as I thought I’d be,” Harris said. “Luke is like that, though. He makes you feel very comfortable. We are just two country boys from south Georgia hanging out and having fun.”
Bryan invited the friends to stay for a cookout and to shoot clay pigeons. He then gave Harris an even bigger, more important conversation. He invited Harris to come with him on the road.
Harris said he never though of himself as a musician, though he grew up actively involved in the music at his church. He played the drums, piano and saxophone.
He had also connected with some musicians from Nashville while going to summer camp in Greenville, SC, with the youth from First Baptist Church of Blackshear.
“I never thought of music as a career option, though,” he said.
He got a friend to teach him how to play guitar.
“He told me to pick a song I liked and he would teach me the chords and how to play it,” Harris recalls.
Harris picked a Luke Bryan song, “Roller Coaster.”
“I’ve always loved the song and then I got to meet the artist,” he said.
Harris soon found himself helping with Bryan’s concerts starting with a show in Mississippi and then traveling to other concerts in the United States and even to Bryan’s Crash my Playa events in Mexico.
“It was a real family oriented experience,” Harris recalls.
Harris worked on Bryan’s crews helping out and then hanging out.
He and three other Georgia natives, Trea Landon of Statesboro, Justin Duke of Vidalia and Josh Sanders of Rincon, kept chasing their dreams.
“We had a great time having fun and not having any drama,” he said.
Harris got to try his hand with song writing and got to do lots of networking with writers, producers and artists in the country music industry.
Harris dropped the names of many of today’s current super stars including Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town, Cole Swindell, Jon Pardi, Darius Rucker, Brett Eldredge and Michael Ray and comedian Ralphie May.
Accompanying Bryan allowed him to see and experience the music industry up close.
Harris says nothing compares to the experience of looking out from backstage and seeing thousands of fans cheering, applauding and having fun at a concert.
One of the first shows was at Louisiana State University (LSU) with over 150,000 fans packed in the stadium for the concert.
He also got to visit the roof top of the Truist Building in Nashville with the president of Universal Records.
“You can see for miles,” he said. “It was breathtaking.”
Another experience was at the hallowed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The Ryman is considered the ultimate venue in country music.
“It was something to just stand there and think of all the greats that have played that stage and there I was standing right there, too,” he said.
Harris wants to reach that level of stardom.
He admits he has had his share of struggles.
Trying to balance home life with his wife and small children and provide for them, pay the bills and make a living present their own challenges.
“I have left it and gotten away a few times, but I find myself always going back,” he said.
Harris, with the support of his wife, April, and family, says he has decided to chase his dream.
He is writing songs and performing and now has his own band. He is beginning to get bookings and perform at larger venues and hopes to get noticed and hopefully get a record contract.
He says Bryan has been a big help.
“I played and sang his song “Strip it Down” for him and asked him to give me his honest opinion,” he said.
Harris said he was afraid to hear Luke’s answer, but was surprised by it.
“He told me I sang it like him and told me to work on my timing and rhythm. That’s pretty amazing! I couldn’t believe here I am a country boy from Pierce County having a jam session with Luke Bryan, much less him giving me such a great compliment like that.”
Harris plans to take that encouragement and pursue his career.
“Luke told me that his Daddy fired him from their farm so he would move to Nashville and follow his dreams,” he said. “I’ve already had experiences like that. I was once sleeping in my truck and here I am writing and playing my own music and having fun doing it.”
Harris said he hopes to make it to country music stardom, but if not he says he has no regrets.
“I just want to be able to say I gave it my all, and to use a sports phrase, I left it all on the field.”
