LIVE Episode - Josh Mitcham | Kentucky Musician & Podcaster - Ft. Lance Rogers | Rugged Revival
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In This Episode
There's something wonderfully honest about watching a musician talk about the moment they fell in love with their instrument. During The Rugged Revival's inaugural live-streamed episode, that's exactly what happened when Josh Mitcham sat down to discuss his journey, his new single "Out Of My Mind," and the creative fire that keeps him reaching for a guitar every single day. What emerged was a portrait of an artist shaped by isolation, inspired by cinema and legend, and stubbornly committed to the craft that saved him.
Mitcham is a Kentucky artist who carries the DNA of someone shaped by rural roots. But his origin story stretches back further—to a small town called Malala, about forty-five minutes south of Portland, Oregon, where he grew up with nothing but family and imagination. There were no neighbors his age, no television, no cell service. His parents worked constantly, and the days stretched long between the first and last day of school. It's the kind of childhood that could break a kid or forge one. In Mitcham's case, it forged him. When he arrived in middle school and high school, he was culture-shocked, uncertain how to interact with his peers. But isolation, it turns out, is a potent teacher for artists.
I almost had to fight it until I got a decent guitar, and then you're so grateful that you have a decent guitar. It makes you want to play more.
— Josh Mitcham
At twelve years old, Mitcham received a guitar for Christmas—not a particularly good one, mind you. It was an off-brand Strat copy with no headstock markings and a stamped serial number. By any reasonable measure, it was a piece of junk. Yet this detail matters profoundly. Mitcham recognized something that many musicians overlook: having to fight for a decent instrument forces a different kind of gratitude and commitment. When you finally upgrade from something barely playable, you don't take it for granted. You play harder. You create more. You believe more.
The inspiration for picking up that first guitar came from two watershed moments. There was Back to the Future—Marty McFly's triumphant rendition of "Johnny B. Goode" that saved the day through sheer guitar heroics. And then came the moment Mitcham stumbled across footage of Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, bending the national anthem into something transcendent. That looked like fun, he thought. That looked like becoming a hero.
My dad actually hates music.
— Josh Mitcham
Decades later, Mitcham's relationship with the guitar has only deepened. He's the type of musician who keeps an instrument within arm's reach at all times. One in the living room. Another in an elaborate setup—more elaborate than what he tours with, in fact—complete with a tweed amplifier and a studio pedal board always ready to be played. His YouTube and Instagram algorithms have surely noticed his obsession: pedal demos, vintage Gibson SG Juniors, Les Pauls, the kind of deep rabbit holes musicians fall into when they've stopped playing music as a job and started living it as a faith.
This obsessive, authentic approach to craft is precisely what you hear in Mitcham's music. During the live episode, he discussed his brand-new single "Out Of My Mind," offering exclusive insight into the song's creation and the creative direction he's pursuing. There's a sense that this isn't an artist chasing trends or playing it safe—this is someone channeling the uncompromising spirit of those early inspirations, whether it's Hendrix's fearlessness or McFly's energy.
What makes Mitcham compelling is that he's never forgotten where he came from: those isolated Oregon days, that terrible first guitar, that moment of seeing possibility in the hands of legends. He carries that hunger with him. Whether he's discussing his sound, his process, or simply talking about what drives him forward, there's an unmistakable authenticity—the kind that can only come from someone who grew up without much and learned to make something meaningful from nothing.
The Rugged Revival's decision to go live for this episode paid dividends. There's an immediacy and intimacy to watching an artist speak in real-time about their work, their influences, and their next chapter. For anyone serious about understanding the current landscape of Americana and roots music—and the artists shaping it—this conversation is essential listening.
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