Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Josh Lovelace — who also plays keys and sings in South Carolina rock band NEEDTOBREATHE— grew up making music. He’s been a musician basically since birth, fed on a steady diet of rock, soul, gospel, folk, Elton John, and Bob Dylan—anyone with a story to tell. Lovelace has been touring in bands since high school ended, the only place he’s ever really felt at home. “I've been on the road most of my life, playing music and trying to keep the rock & roll dream alive. It's what I've always done,” he says.

“Writing has always been something that feels like a best friend in some ways; I'm able to lean on that any time,” Lovelace says. “I've never felt like I was ready to share where I am. Who I am at this moment feels like the right time to let all that out.” And let it all out he does on landmark album Shelters, an 11-song suite of achingly personal tracks that ping-pong with alacrity between self-doubt, angst, and a stunning kind of hope. An album close to the heart that’s also deeply, deeply relatable to anyone who’s ever felt lost, Lovelace’s solo effort drops on October 25.