Joshua Lee Turner is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, engineer, and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. Josh is best known for his YouTube channel Josh Turner Guitar, where he posts covers, original music, and instructional content. He created the channel in 2007 at age 15, about a year after first picking up the guitar. Despite his childhood ambition to pursue a career in car design, the accidental success of Josh’s YouTube channel laid the groundwork for a very different path. Playing music was purely a hobby until a few videos received quite a bit of attention, such as his 2012 rendition of “Sultans of Swing,” which has since garnered over 12 million views, and his 2014 cover of Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” which earned him an appearance on Good Morning America.
As of 2023, Josh’s YouTube channel has grown to nearly 665K subscribers and over 180M views, but the basic formula behind his videos has never changed: straightforward, live performances of songs, solo and with ensembles large and small. Josh has a strict policy of always showing the viewer exactly what they’re hearing - no lip syncing, no trickery. He also only chooses cover songs based on his curiosity, rather than what the algorithm might like him to play (sorry, he will never cover “Take Me Home, Country Roads”). This curiosity has led him to cover a breadth of genres that is perhaps unmatched on a single YouTube channel, spanning folk, jazz, classical, choral, rock, pop, bluegrass, blues, early music, traditional Irish music, disco, and beyond.
Josh graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis with a BA in Music in 2015. That same year he performed alongside Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys at their induction ceremony into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, Josh was a Chairman’s Scholarship recipient at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival, where he opened for Jim Messina and performed alongside Chris Eldridge and Gonzalo Bergara.
After moving to New York City in 2016 to pursue music full-time, Josh began touring internationally in support of his own original music, as well as with long-time collaborator Carson McKee, as the folk duo The Other Favorites. In 2019 Josh starred in A Celebration of Paul Simon’s Graceland, which debuted at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London to favorable reviews. Josh has also toured extensively with the U.S. cast of The Simon & Garfunkel Story.
In 2019, Josh released his first full-length album of original music, As Good a Place as Any. His second album, Public Life, was released in 2020 as a song by song video series before its release on vinyl. In 2021, Josh and his wife, Kelly, drove across the country, filming music collaborations with friends old and new, which became Among Friends: A Musical Travelogue. The project was released as an episodic video series and full-length album, featuring artists such as Allison Young, Reina del Cid, Elijah Fox, Beth Goodfellow, Brandon Acker, and Chase Eagleson. In 2022, Josh began touring with Allison Young in support of their EP of original music, May 9-12.
Josh and Kelly are a full-time production duo for the YouTube channel and freelance session, engineering, and production work. They live with their cat, Marie (who, it could be argued, is the real star of many videos), and enjoy cooking and afternoons in Prospect Park.
As of 2023, Josh’s YouTube channel has grown to nearly 665K subscribers and over 180M views, but the basic formula behind his videos has never changed: straightforward, live performances of songs, solo and with ensembles large and small. Josh has a strict policy of always showing the viewer exactly what they’re hearing - no lip syncing, no trickery. He also only chooses cover songs based on his curiosity, rather than what the algorithm might like him to play (sorry, he will never cover “Take Me Home, Country Roads”). This curiosity has led him to cover a breadth of genres that is perhaps unmatched on a single YouTube channel, spanning folk, jazz, classical, choral, rock, pop, bluegrass, blues, early music, traditional Irish music, disco, and beyond.
Josh graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis with a BA in Music in 2015. That same year he performed alongside Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys at their induction ceremony into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, Josh was a Chairman’s Scholarship recipient at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival, where he opened for Jim Messina and performed alongside Chris Eldridge and Gonzalo Bergara.
After moving to New York City in 2016 to pursue music full-time, Josh began touring internationally in support of his own original music, as well as with long-time collaborator Carson McKee, as the folk duo The Other Favorites. In 2019 Josh starred in A Celebration of Paul Simon’s Graceland, which debuted at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London to favorable reviews. Josh has also toured extensively with the U.S. cast of The Simon & Garfunkel Story.
In 2019, Josh released his first full-length album of original music, As Good a Place as Any. His second album, Public Life, was released in 2020 as a song by song video series before its release on vinyl. In 2021, Josh and his wife, Kelly, drove across the country, filming music collaborations with friends old and new, which became Among Friends: A Musical Travelogue. The project was released as an episodic video series and full-length album, featuring artists such as Allison Young, Reina del Cid, Elijah Fox, Beth Goodfellow, Brandon Acker, and Chase Eagleson. In 2022, Josh began touring with Allison Young in support of their EP of original music, May 9-12.
Josh and Kelly are a full-time production duo for the YouTube channel and freelance session, engineering, and production work. They live with their cat, Marie (who, it could be argued, is the real star of many videos), and enjoy cooking and afternoons in Prospect Park.