“A creative director, designer and photographer, at 40, Joseph Shipp is only now stepping out into a new career as a singer-songwriter with this debut album; unquestionably, it’s one of the year’s best.”
— Folk Radio UK
PRESS KIT
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Joseph Shipp is adept at an array of creative fields: a musician, of course; an award-winning graphic designer; an accidental archivist; and a photographer who grew up around his parents’ photography business – as Glide Magazine notes, this offers an advantage on his debut album, Free, for a While: “These artistic pursuits give him a perspective and a keen observant sense that few other ‘beginning’ singer-songwriters possess.”
Shipp is releasing his debut album at 40, which centers around his experience of moving back home—or at least to nearby Nashville—after several years in northern California. Amid a turbulent time in the South, he found nothing really resembled what he had left. The 11-song collection, co-produced with Grammy-nominated Andrew Sovine (Ashley McBryde), offers Shipp’s own brand of Americana and is a catharsis that wrestles with his feelings of coming home, becoming a dad, and the isolation and fear that followed.
“…his debut is a vibrant offering that’s both reflective of his own personal journey and equally inventive on a musical level.”
“When I moved back to Tennessee with my wife, we ripped up some deep roots by leaving San Francisco. We bought a house in East Nashville, and I found myself feeling out of place and isolated. I worked from home and didn’t know many people, so I spent most of my time alone at home trying to finish up a book project,” Shipp says. “I also started writing songs again with the extra alone time.”
The book project Shipp mentions is called “A Community in Black & White: A Most Unusual Photo Album of One Southern Community,” published in 2018 as a collaboration with The Bitter Southerner. The book features over a hundred photos centered around Hickman County, Tenn., taken by Shipp’s paternal grandfather, who died before he was born. The photos crossed racial lines in the Jim Crow South, featuring Black and white folks in the community—uncommon for the time and setting.
“I'm very proud of my family history. In many ways, this is just one manifestation of that pride. I'm also proud of where I grew up,” Shipp told The Bitter Southerner back when the book was published. In the years and songs written since then, Shipp has clearly spent time wrestling with his feelings around these subjects—part of what Free, for a While centers around.
“A distinctive voice that tells well-crafted stories that resonate with honesty.”
— Americana UK
With a voice that some have compared to Bob Dylan and Daniel Johnston, Joseph Shipp's songs are rooted in folk and explore sonics and moods that draw to mind Tom Petty, Nick Cave, and even the sneer of Kurt Cobain.
“Kudos to Shipp and Sovine for varying the sonics and moods. The three-song sequence in the middle of the album is especially strong. […] Shipp comes across as a veteran far more so than a rookie in this auspicious debut.”
— GLIDE MAGAZINE
“Yes, with music, photography and design all as strings for his bow, Shipp may be a jack of all trades, but he’s certainly a master when it comes to songwriting.”
— AMERICANA UK
“With one of the strongest debut albums in the Americana field in some time, Joseph Shipp seems bound for songwriting glory. It’s a must-hear.”
— VIVASCENE
“A creative director, designer and photographer, at 40, Joseph Shipp is only now stepping out into a new career as a singer-songwriter with this debut album; unquestionably, it’s one of the year’s best.”
— FOLK RADIO UK