Josh Christina: Punxsutawney Festival in the Park

Band https://punxsutawney.com/events/festival-in-the-park/ It's a path that seemed destined from the start. Born into a musical family, Baltimore-based rockabilly artist, Josh Christina inherited his musical chops from his father (a drummer), his mother (Baltimore-area singer Patti Christina), and his grandmother, who was a big band singer in the '40's and '50's. He's spent the last 15 years honing his sound - a combination of the country, classic rock, big band and rockabilly he was raised on. And while most artists find the pressures of today's music scene to look and sound a certain way daunting, Christina continues to find success in both Baltimore and Nashville by doing what he does best - being himself. Christina's personal journey began at age six, when he took an interest in the King himself - Elvis Presley. "Hearing Elvis for the first time, I remember thinking his sound was so unique and raw. I watched DVD's of his performances - my favorite was his 1954 performance of That's All Right. His sound was so clean, yet so edgy. As I developed as an artist, I found myself gravitating toward that same sound." By eight, Christina had organized a Junior Blues Brothers act that performed regularly at venues in the Baltimore area. At 15, he began playing piano after taking a trip to New York City with his parents to see Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway. "While I bought tickets out of my love for Elvis, I remember being blown away by the styling's of Jerry Lee Lewis... He had such flare. He redefined the piano for me. I had taken lessons as a kid, playing mostly classical, which bored me. When the actor playing Jerry Lee kicked out the stool, jumped on the piano, played with his feet... I was sold. I gave piano a second chance and, with that, adopted Jerry Lee's entertainment style." With his newfound passion for piano, Christina began writing, drawing inspiration from the "simple, yet clever, corny rhymes" of writers Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Stevie Ray Vaugh