Joshua Powell

Joshua Powell is the exhausted wizard at the helm of Indiana’s most haunted astral rock band. From his hardcore roots in the Floridian swamps and beyond the fever dream of his troubadour folk era, Powell’s songs have drifted through genres but maintained a crystalline vision for literarily-informed lyrics that dig for enlightenment in a surrealist muck. Comprising his merry band are blood brother and born drummer, Jacob Powell, rock guitar shaman Adam Shuntich, and virtuosic low end architect, Josh “Bass Mountain” Townsend. The plague year saw these four cloistered together like monks over overdrive pedals, and their first truly co-written album “Skeleton Party” was born on Romanus Records. Audiotree wrote: “Four LP’s and over 900 shows later, the midwestern road dog’s ever- evolving, transcendent style embraces hallucinatory metal and grimy psychedelia.”

Joshua and the band have had songs on ABC, Freeform, AMC, and MTV networks and on the Spotify-curated playlists “The Wilds.” Their music has been highlighted in the documentary on gig posters, “Just Like Being There” and the queer road trip saga “Retake”. PBS featured the band on an episode of the show Backstage Pass, and they have recorded sessions with Audiotree, Chicago Music Exchange, WFYI, Daytrotter, and the Emmy-winning Music in Transit. No Depression described Powell’s music as, “a crossroads of revival-in-the-river folk mysticism and barroom-ready guitar-driven rock with conscience and existential wonder.” Music Mecca called it “Iron Maiden meets the Allman Brothers.”

Their incessant interstate portal-hopping has taken them to Mile of Music (WI), Nebraska Folk and Roots Festival (NE), Midpoint Music Fest (OH), Holler on the Hill (IN), Audiofeed (IL), Harvest Gathering (MI), and they have shared stages with The Cactus Blossoms, As Cities Burn, Murder By Death, and the Way Down Wanderers.

“Skeleton Party” is available now on Romanus Records on all streaming platforms!