Grider ‘gettin’ there with hard work, tour

Josh Grider has come a long way from his days growing up in Las Cruces.

The country singer/songwriter has moved to Nashville, Tenn. He’s gotten married and started a family. Oh, he’s also garnered his first No. 1 on the Texas music charts with his EP, “The Gettin’ There.”

“This has been an amazing time in my life,” he says during a recent phone interview. “I do miss the desert but for my career, it was important for me to leave the area.”

	Josh Grider With Simon Balkey WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11 WHERE: Dirty Bourbon Dance Hall & Saloon, 9800 Montgomery NE HOW MUCH: $5 at holdmyticket.com

Grider has been working in the music business for more than 10 years and he’s toured the country performing his music.

As the time has passed, Grider has also gotten more confident with writing.

“Since I’ve moved to Nashville, I’ve been afforded the opportunity to collaborate with other writers,” he says. “I’ve got a publishing deal to write songs and what they usually do is put a bunch of us writers together to see what comes of it.”

And getting to Nashville was a blessing in disguise. Grider says while touring in support of his 2012 album, “Live At Billy Bob’s Texas,” he found himself on a radio show with Wade Bowen called “Troubadour, Texas.”

After the show, Bowen offered to introduce Grider to his management team. That introduction led to Grider meeting and eventually signing with AMP Entertainment, a new publishing/artist management venture launched by industry veteran Tim Dubois. Dubois is the founder of Arista Nashville and responsible for signing Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, Lee Roy Parnell, Brad Paisley and Diamond Rio.

“This opportunity came to me when I wasn’t even looking for anything,” he says. “Those are usually the best opportunities. The ones that catch you by surprise usually work out the best.”

Grider says being able to collaborate has helped him broaden his horizons and learn some tricks of the trade.

“Of course, coming into this, I did have a little insecurity and nerves,” he says. “Most of these writers have written a bunch of hits for other country artists. I still am the new kid on the block and have to prove myself. But it’s fun to learn from each one of these people.”

While Grider often writes for other musicians, there is one song he kept for himself.

“It’s a song that was written after my son was born,” he says. “It’s never made it on a recording and I doubt that it ever will. I do perform the song live, but I never wanted to be the type of person who writes about their children. Truth is, it’s amazing to be a father and my son has added so much more to my life. I’m no longer the most important in my life and I have to work harder to provide for him and my wife.”