Josh T. Pearson is an American musician from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. He is known for his work with the band

Lift to Experience Lift to Experience is an American indie rock band from Denton, Texas, that formed in 1996 with vocalist and guitarist Josh T. Pearson, drummer Andy "The Boy" Young and bassist Josh "The Bear" Browning. The band has thus far released only one ...

and his subsequent solo career.

Lift to Experience

In 1996, Pearson formed the short-lived, but critically acclaimed band

, who released one double album, '' The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads'' on

Bella Union Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde. History After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twin ...

in 2001, before splitting up soon after. Lift to Experience reformed in 2016 to perform a one-off show at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

. The band subsequently remixed ''The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads'' and went on to play at the

Green Man Festival The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...

in Wales in August 2017.

Wilderness years

After

disbanded, Pearson retreated to Limestone County,

, doing odd jobs to get by while he continued playing and writing music. Eventually, he left Texas for Europe, where he lived in Berlin and Paris while playing live to support himself. He also toured with

Dirty Three Dirty Three is an Australian instrumental rock band, consisting of Warren Ellis (violin and bass guitar), Mick Turner (electric and bass guitars) and Jim White (drums), which formed in 1992. Their 1996 album ''Horse Stories'' was voted by ''Ro ...

Archie Bronson Outfit Archie Bronson Outfit are an English rock band. They met at Kingswood School, Bath. After leaving their native Somerset, the band moved to London where they were discovered by Laurence Bell, boss of Domino Records. The band were playing i ...

65daysofstatic 65daysofstatic (often abbreviated as 65dos, 65days, or simply 65) are a post-rock band from Sheffield, England. Formed in 2001, the band is composed of instrumentalists Paul Wolinski, Joe Shrewsbury, Rob Jones and Simon Wright. The band's mus ...

and notably performed at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

festival several times including those curated by

(2007) and My Bloody Valentine (2009). His only studio recording during this time is a cover of

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

' song "

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song has been covered by a wide range of musicians. Authorship and production Various writers quoted Williams a ...

", which was released on 7-inch split single also featuring

, and appearance on West Country Night - Session One compilation album. He also provided guitar and backing vocals on two songs, "Seal Jubilee" and "Trophy", on

Bat for Lashes Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released five studio albums: ''Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Haun ...

' 2006

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

-nominated album ''

Fur and Gold Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...

''. In 2005, Pearson released the CD-R live album ''To Hull and Back'', recorded at Hull's

The New Adelphi Club The New Adelphi Club is a popular local venue for alternative live music in the city of Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has achieved notability outside its local area, having hosted such bands as The Stone Roses, Radiohead, Green ...

. Featuring songs he toured until 2008 such as "The Clash", "Devil Is On The Run" and "Sins Of The Father", it is available on YouTube with the artist's permission.

Solo career

In January 2010, Pearson recorded an album of acoustic ballads at Klangbild Studios in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. During album recording sessions, he also did a session with Berlin-based pianist and composer

Dustin O'Halloran Dustin O'Halloran (born September 8, 1971) is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen. Early ...

(two songs from this session were later released in support of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

2011) and later that year took part in

Yann Tiersen Yann Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a French Breton musician and composer. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical and c ...

's project Dust Lane Inc. In November 2010,

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

announced the signing of Josh T. Pearson and release of his debut solo album '' Last of the Country Gentlemen'' in March 2011. Pearson spent most of 2011–12 promoting the album and touring extensively in its support, playing many solo shows including

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

Music Conference in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and sold-out nights at

Union Chapel, Islington Union Chapel is a working church, live entertainment venue and charity drop-in centre for the homeless in Islington, London, England. Built in the late 19th century in the Gothic revival style, the church is Grade I-listed. It is at the north ...

and

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, festivals including

Primavera Sound Festival Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espany ...

Latitude Festival The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 ...

and End of the Road Festival, while also sharing stage with likes of

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), Ch ...

and

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisc ...

. He made his TV debut on the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

show, '' Later... with Jools Holland'', in April 2011. ''Last of the Country Gentlemen'' was named Rough Trade's "Album of the Year 2011" and nominated in two categories, Best Album and "Breakthrough Act, at the 2011 Mojo Awards and shortlisted for the 2011 Uncut Music Award. ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' placed the album at number 5, while ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' ranked it number 7, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' number 33 and '' Q'' number 42 in their "Top 50 Albums of 2011". In December 2013 ''Uncut'' included ''Last of the Country Gentlemen'' in their pick of the top 50 Greatest Singer/Songwriter Albums of All Time list. In October 2011, Pearson took part in "A Room for London – Sounds from a Room" art project, in which leading artists of all disciplines used a one-bedroom

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

's book ''

Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...

'' influenced architectural installation, in the form of a riverboat perched on a rooftop of

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

as a workspace. During his two-day residency, Pearson recorded 10 gospel songs followed by a live webcast. Pearson played and appeared in the 2002 French experimental film by

Philippe Grandrieux Philippe Grandrieux (born 10 November 1954) is a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Grandrieux was born in Saint-Étienne. He studied film at the INSAS (Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle) in Belgium. He exhi ...

entitled, '' La Vie nouvelle''. Pearson's song "Country Dumb" appears in the 2012

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh (; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director. Born and brought up in London, he is the son of Irish parents. He is known as one of the most acclaimed modern playwrights whose ...

-directed motion picture ''

Seven Psychopaths ''Seven Psychopaths'' is a 2012 satirical black comedy crime drama film directed, written, and co-produced by Martin McDonagh and starring an ensemble cast featuring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, and Christopher Walken, with ...

'' and "Woman, When I've Raised Hell" in the 2013

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

thriller film written by

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his gr ...

, ''

The Counselor ''The Counselor'' (known as ''The Counsellor'' in countries that use British English) is a 2013 crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Cormac McCarthy. It stars Michael Fassbender as the eponymous Counselor as well as Penél ...

''. In April 2018, Pearson released his second solo studio album '' The Straight Hits!'', again on Mute Records.

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the St ...

called Pearson "a one of a kind artist", while Guy Garvey of

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

called him "the greatest male vocalist of our time".

Discography

Albums

*'' Last of the Country Gentlemen'' (Mute, 2011) *'' The Straight Hits!'' (Mute, 2018)

Singles / EPs

*"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (Bella Union, 2006) – split 7-inch single w/

*"Country Dumb" (Mute, 2011) – single *"Sweetheart I Ain't Your Christ / Country Dumb" (Mute, 2011) – 12-inch Record Store Day release (limited edition of 250) *"Woman, When I've Raised Hell" (Mute, 2011) – single *"Sorry with a Song" (Mute, 2011) – single *''Rough Trade Christmas Bonus'' (Mute, 2011) – limited edition EP for Rough Trade Shops

Live bootlegs

*''To Hull and Back'' (self-released, 2005) – CD-R album, Recorded live at

in Hull, England *''The King Is Dead'' (Mute Czechoslovakia, 2011) – 12-inch album (limited edition of 1000). Recorded live at Union Chapel in London, England

References

External links

Official website