Photos Provided Gage Joseph may be a senior at Shadyside High School for now. But, already four years into a career in country music, he’s just one graduation day away from nothing but gigs. Coming months include the EP (extended play) release of four singles produced with his band and a solo tour in either the South or

SHADYSIDE — Gage Joseph has started more than one school day at 6 a.m. in full football gear, ready for practice. And ended it by changing into denim, boots and his signature Stetson in a vehicle outside wherever he was performing country music that night.

Already four years into a music career at age 18, he chuckled at his stagewear preferences. “I like the shiny stuff,” he admitted.

Winning a karaoke contest in one’s freshman year and miraculously acquiring guitar skills, a booking agent and a Nashville-based songwriting partner by age 16 can make that kind of thing happen.

There have been even earlier days, he acknowledged in a recent interview, darting a quick glance at mom Heather Joseph before chuckling again.

“My mom knows I’m a horrible sleeper … I was writing at 2 a.m. on a school night recently. I was late to school.”

Heather Joseph, a nurse when she isn’t burning up her phone screen keeping her only child’s performance schedule straight, groaned.

But, graduation is looming and Joseph’s path out of Shadyside High School doesn’t look to be any calmer than his tenure there. Unencumbered from classes and sports practices for the first time in his young life, it will soon be nothing but gigs.

“If I play four, five shows a week, I’m sitting pretty good,” Joseph said of where he already is. “It’s something that could be lived off of.”

For the local gigs, he’ll perform with his band.

Yep, at 18, he already has one — all seasoned professionals. It’s Jason Birch on drums, Luke Daller on bass guitar, Wyatt Kidd on fiddle, Gregg Molnar on lead guitar and Adam Tarovisky on keyboards.

There’s the summer release of his first EP — an extended-play set of four original songs produced with the band at Aardvark Productions of Ohio. And, in the fall, a smallish solo tour is shaping up — either on the East Coast or in the South.

“I wasn’t really expecting it to transition this fast,” Joseph said. “It’s happened over my high school career.”

VILLAGE PEOPLE

There’s also the small village of supporters that will be wherever he is, in spirit if not in person.

Since Joseph, just looking for something to do, took to the stage at age 14 — ultimately winning an American Idol style competition at The Pike 40 in St. Clairsville — they’ve been accumulating in snowball fashion.

For some, it’s a labor of love. Heather Joseph does everything from ironing shirts to filing taxes. Family friend Doug Boston travels with Joseph as stage manager.

For others, it’s love of music.

These include guitar teacher Shannon Canterbury of Martins Ferry, who gave Joseph his second stage venue by letting him perform 15 minute breaks during his own gigs.

Nashville songwriter Brett Taylor (who co-wrote both Joseph’s first single “Hammer Down” and one of the songs on the coming EP) and Wheeling songwriter Grant Coleman of Mugshots coffee shop are also in the mix.

As is booking agent Jon Banco — who represents more than 60 regional artists in addition to booking all of Wheeling’s park venues.

It was Banco who got Joseph his first venues as a solo act. It was also Banco who suggested and then assembled a skilled band for Joseph in 2021.

Joseph really is that good, Banco has said in previous interviews about the local music circuit, having that rare combination of musical talent, stage presence and drive that can lead to big careers.

“The dream is that I would love to play every stadium in the country,” Joseph said of keeping plan A on center stage indefinitely. “I have a love for music and I don’t want that to stop anytime soon.”

STEP BY STEP

Heather Joseph said her son, also an honor student, showed musical talent early. But, she never expected him to go pro. “He had good pitch and a good ear,” she said, noting Joseph could sing the national anthem in tune by age 5.

From the moment he picked up his first acoustic — not long after the Pike Idol competition — things started moving at warp speed, he noted. For one thing, Joseph wrote his first song — an unreleased single called “Whisky Dreams” that same year.

“It’s basically a breakup song,” he said, laughing about the incongruity of the subject and title and young teendom. “It was the best I could do at 15.”

Taylor, the Nashville songwriter, must have agreed. After Joseph traveled to the city not long after — and performed some of his original music at the Commodore Grille — Taylor decided to help Joseph round out the single that became “Hammer Down.”

Joseph soon developed enough material — mostly covers with his original music mixed in — to deliver two to three hours of performance, at which time Banco stepped in.

“It started small,” Heather Joseph said. “As more people heard him, those people called (for bookings) from as far away as Pittsburgh, Columbus, Marietta. We’re trying to move things out a little bit.”

To date, the band’s close out of the 2021 Oglebayfest was the largest performance, she noted. That audience topped 500.

STAGE SMARTS

Things have reached a point that is real and sobering at the same time, Joseph and his mom noted. He is learning to entertain and to navigate the financial side of the biz — such as realizing royalties from electronically shared songs are teeny, tiny.

Live performance, merchandise and record contracts that come with production-funding advances are where making a viable living comes in, Joseph said, noting he sees Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Ohio Valley-launched Brad Paisley as career models.

But, even as the gigs and income keep rolling in, occasional trips to Nashville are nail biters, Heather Joseph noted.

“What’s working today is not what’s going to work next week,” she said of the industry’s digital revolution. “It used to be Nashville was the thing. But, after going to Nashville, it was very eye opening. There are 25 kids just like him on every corner trying to make it.”

Or, maybe not just like him, that village of friends/fans seems to be saying, she added.

“He’s doing the whole thing,” she said. “His hard work, his being able to get up on stage and keep the crowd entertained.”

Joseph smiled at that, going on to talk of his love for writing music and then getting to perform it. Of his growing appreciation for other musicians’ words as he sings their covers night after night.

He’s hoping for bigger and better, but things are already pretty good. “I really enjoy seeing everyone else having a fun time, they’re just trying to let the work week fall away and, hopefully, I’m facilitating that.”

Readers who would like to hear Joseph live will have a handful of opportunities in coming weeks. His next performance is March 19 at Generations Restaurant & Pub.