Josh Abbott keeps one foot in the Texas music scene and the other in the national country world. Josh won four times during the inaugural Texas Regional Radio Awards with his upbeat brand of country that still leans on classic instrumentation – particularly banjo and fiddle – to affect a raucous, roof-raising attitude. He has launched three singles onto the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart (including “Oh, Tonight” featuring Kacey Musgraves), nabbed a Top 10 album with the 2012’s Small Town Family Dreams and reached No. 12 with the 2014 EP Tuesday Night. Abbott’s latest album, Until My Voice Goes Out, is by contrast, a hopeful look into the future, a roll-up-the-sleeves-and-move forward embrace of life and its potential. Experiencing life at its fullest includes taking risks, Abbott does that successfully in Until My Voice Goes Out, incorporating strings and a horn section for the first time. The approach layered both a glassy classicism and a ragged soul on the well-oiled JAB framework. Abbott is a determined force of nature, and his ability to lead has been a hallmark since inception. Enjoy his rare collaboration with the “806 Crew” plus a “new” project to be announced and performed this January – Only at MusicFest.