We recently connected with folk/country band, Rosco Johnny, and have shared our conversation below.

Hi guys, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi, we’re Rosco Johnny, a family folk/country trio that lives in Dallas, but records in Nashville for our label, Southern Skye Records. The band consists of Justin Philip Brooks, Tiffany Brooks (Justin’s wife), and Morgan Taylor (Tiffany’s brother). We like to call our music “Texas Folk with a Shot of Country” in hopes that it transports the listener to the familiar comfort of the front porches and deep woods of our roots. From dusty juke joints, to the brawling south Texas bar rooms, to the churches sometimes just down the road from these establishments, we incorporate the sounds from all of these places in our music. We strive to approach folk music in a new way, yet keep the important history of where our sound has come from. We keep a busy schedule playing live around Texas and beyond, performing at festivals, colleges, arenas, churches, and have a residency at a Texas winery.

It was at a music conference in Memphis, TN where we met and began working Nashville Grammy-nominated producer, Billy Smiley (Johnny Cash, Clay Aiken, WhiteHeart, Steven Curtis Chapman). The collaboration blossomed into a partnership that has produced four recordings and several singles. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have players like Buddy Miller, Matt Slocum (Sixpence None The Richer), Steve Hindalong (The Choir), Andy Leftwich (Ricky Scaggs), Brennan Smiley (The Technicolors), Dan Needham (Michael McDonald), and Jeff Taylor (Elvis Costello, Vince Gill), work with us in the studio to bring our recordings to life.

Beginning as a vehicle to provide backing vocals to Justin’s initial solo career, we began singing together more and more and discovered something special in our harmonies. As we continued to record with Billy, it became clear that a new era for the band had emerged with new songs and a new sound. We decided to take on the name, “Rosco Johnny” after Tiffany and Morgan’s grandfather. The name seemed fitting as he professed his love for his wife, his God, his country music, and his harmonica until his dying day.

We strive for a constant awareness that when we say we are a “family band’, we don’t mean only us three. Many in our family have worked hard and made sacrifices for Rosco Johnny to become a reality, and that includes our team of friends that have helped us immeasurably along the way. It takes a village and as we go out and share what we have all worked so hard for, we hope it makes everyone proud.

Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

We recently had the opportunity to share the stage with guitar legend, Phil Keaggy. While there, we had the honor of him joining us and our producer, Billy Smiley to debut a track that we just released that’s incredibly meaningful to us. We were commissioned to write a song for an organization called the Trideum Foundation who spotlights non-profits that are doing good work in the world. We were struck by the stories and work being done by two organizations in particular called Footprints On The Heart and Ryker’s Rainbow, who do the all-important work of walking with families through the grief of losing a child. Inspired by their sacred calling, we wrote the song “I Shall Not Be Moved” with Billy Smiley that points towards hope in times of grief. Since its release, we’ve been humbled to hear how this song is helping folks process difficult times in their lives. Our prayer is that the music we create would provide comfort and a light where needed.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For us, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being together as a family. We’re so grateful to be able to have the experiences we do with traveling, recording, and performing. As the years go by, sometimes families don’t get to see each other as much as they would like. The fact that we get to do this with people we love and genuinely want to be around is incredible and brings us closer. Every step of the way, the highs and the lows have been experienced together and we are stronger for it as family and as people.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

We will speak strictly for music artists. It has never been a better time or a worse time to be a full-time musician. “Best” because literally anyone with a computer, a digital audio workstation, and a microphone, can make their own records and release it digitally to the world. The only way, pre-streaming, one could release music worldwide was through a record label, and that is not necessarily the case these days. “Worse” because since anyone can release their music to the masses, now an artist has the task of making the masses find them. That becomes increasingly tricky. Not to mention, since we consume our music via streaming, the royalties that used to be respectable for physical album sales, is now at a quarter of a penny per stream for independent artists. It might surprise some readers to know that just one sale of a vinyl record or cd (which artists sell at their shows for around $20-25) earns more money for that artist than 5000 track streams. That is why bands play live often and sell merchandise (“merch”). All that to say, the best thing we can do for creatives is to attend their show; go out and support local talent. Second of all, buy a record, a t-shirt, a hat, anything they are selling to remind you of your experience seeing them live. They will be incredibly grateful and is a surefire way you can support artists and creatives. We’re thankful for everyone who shows their support!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.roscojohnny.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roscojohnnymusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoscoJohnny/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPX1KT4IXpLjxbtmB1Bz2cg
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@roscojohnny

Image Credits
Photos by Richard Hill