Joseph Arthur is an American folk-rock singer-songwriter who was discovered by Peter Gabriel and has made a series of EPs and albums with performances at Gabriel's Womad Festival and across the United States.
Born in Ohio, he started to play electronic keyboards as a teenager and had a stint with a local blues band before relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, where he played local clubs and made home recordings. A demo of an EP titled 'Cut and Blind' made it to Gabriel and following an audition, in 1997 Arthur became the first American artist signed to Gabriel's Real World Records label. After the release of his debut album 'Big City Streets', his moody, electronic style attracted attention in his homeland and after an EP titled 'Vacancy', he released the album 'Come to Where I'm From', produced by T-Bone Burnett. Larger venues beckoned where he also sold a series of EPs under the title 'Junkyard Hearts'.
A third album, 'Redemption's Son', was released in 2002 with 'Our Shadows Will Remain' in 2004. Featuring strings for the first time, the latter album received wide critical praise and resulted in four singles and a tour of Europe with R.E.M. His 2006 release 'Nuclear Daydream' went to number 38 on the Billboard Independent Albums Chart and he has released a series of albums and EPs since, including the 2013 album 'The Ballad of Boogie Christ' which reached number 13 on Billboard's Americana/Folk Albums Chart. His 2014 album 'Lou' peaked at number 22 on the Americana/Folk Chart with 'Days of Surrender' following in 2015 and 'The Family' in 2016.
