These days there is a lot to be said for “what you see is what you get,” and that’s definitely the case with up-and-coming country artist Josh Phillips. Phillips may not be a nationwide household name quite yet, but his authenticity, amazing songwriting and hard-work ethic caught the attention of some of country music’s biggest names, including Brantley Gilbert. Phillips has built a strong group of incredibly loyal fans, especially in the Southeast. “I would say my fans are my fans because they see me as being just like them—a guy that’s been there, a guy that’s blue collar, a guy that’s one of their buddies.” NRA Country is excited to spotlight Phillips because we’re confident he is destined to become a big star. Vanessa Shahidi recently learned a bit more about the North Carolina native and why he’s NRA Country:
VS: Have you had any memorable hunts with other artists?
JP: Haha! I went to Tyler Farr’s house one day to go deer hunting, and his two dogs slept out in his barn with me (he has a man cave out there). One of the dogs ate something it shouldn’t have and had an upset stomach. So when I woke up the next morning at 4:30 to go hunting and I couldn’t see, I stepped in … Looking back it was pretty funny. I also doubled-up on some beautiful Eastern turkeys with my buddy Aaron Lewis last year before a show in Indiana on the Brantley Gilbert tour.
VS: Does your love for the great outdoors impact your music?
JP: Absolutely! I like to talk about it from time to time in my songs. I also think the fans enjoy that. We talk about a lot of our hunts during “Meet and Greets” and stuff!
VS: What is your favorite personal firearm?
JP: This is a tough one. I’ve been building and collecting guns for about 10 years now. It would be hard to pick just one, but I will name my top five: FN-SCAR 17 in .308 Win., Browning in .300 Win. Mag. (was my dad’s), Marlin in .30-30 (was my granddad’s), IWI Tavor in .223 Rem. and Glock 19.
VS: What are you currently working on?
JP: I just released an EP with new music, and am super pumped to continue touring, hunting and meeting/hanging with more fans!
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