Journey Home

SEEKING

Vocalist, Keyboard, Piano.

ABOUT

The Journey Home…

Journey Home (formerly Acoustic Journey) are a multi-award nominated Country band from the heart of the United Kingdom. They have been gathering swift momentum since bursting onto the UK Country scene in early 2015, following a successful performance at C2C Country to Country. Their attitude to playing upbeat shows and sharing a beer or twelve with fans afterwards has allowed them to develop a truly loyal fan base.

Between Jonesy and Ben, the pair have developed a formidable songwriting team and have collaborated on every song since they originally formed as a duo in 2009. The band are known for writing and performing upbeat, feel good tracks that reflect the lifestyles they have lived through their teens and 20's.

The band have been playing shows alongside some of the best Country artists in the UK including Jess & The Bandits, Sasha McVeigh, Luke & Mel, The Southern Companion and Holloway Road. Their EP "Get Back Up: Get Back On It" released in October 2015 reached the Top 10 in the iTunes Country chart. Their efforts have been recognised with multiple award nominations at the British Country Music Association Awards (Horizon Act) and the UKCountryRadio awards (Group and Artist).

The Origin Story…

School friends, Andrew Jones (Jonesy), a singer/songwriter and self-taught guitarist, and Ben Gurney, talented songwriter and lead guitarist in rock band RichLife, formed the original duo at a pub open mic night in their home town of Brackley. Short of acts for the evening, the pair decided to perform a couple of songs together. They played an original composition called "Lookin' Back", a slow melodic acoustic song. They then unleashed a cover of Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy by Big and Rich. This had the audience watching in awe as Jonesy really tested his vocal limits and Ben shredded some great Country riffs in this foot stomping track.

Tight harmonies and a raw acoustic sound really impressed the owner of the pub and this led to their first paid gig just a few weeks later. Unfortunately the name "Journey" (an amalgamation of Jones and Gurney) was already taken so they tacked on "Acoustic" and began gigging under that name.

A number of years playing local venues and festivals had the duo searching for a fresher, harder hitting sound which saw the arrival of Andy Sammons in 2012. Sammons was looking for a change in direction after drumming for heavy metal band 6 Bullet Chamber for a number of years. He'd already started listening to Country music based on recommendations from his soon to be band mates, "fancy playing percussion for us?" was the only call he needed. He went out and bought a Lion Cajon, a fairly new and experimental instrument, and brought it along to the next practice. It was exactly what the duo needed and after a little bit of vocal coaching by Jonesy, Sammons added the third vocal harmony to the mix as well.

The Future…

As the band progresses the sound is expanding and moving away from the original acoustic line-up. This is turn enabled the band to rebrand and decided upon the name Journey Home. The 'Journey' part has always been key as mentioned earlier. With the addition of yet another school friend James Archer joining them on the bass guitar the band is now at full strength. James also played with Ben in rock band RichLife who opened for Bon Jovi in 2007.

As Ben picks up the electric guitar again and Sammons dusts off his drum sticks, there are definitely exciting times ahead for Journey Home as they move to a full band setup. They are looking forward to filling the bigger stages with their rock influenced Country music. Their next EP will be showcasing this new sound and is currently in the works, being produced by Country music veteran Tommy Harden (Reba McIntyre, Lost Hollow) in Nashville.