Once in a while, you find someone that you feel like you need to support because you believe so strongly in them, whether it be their talent or who they are as a person, or in this case, both. Josie Sanken is one of those people. Josie is a musician based out of Brownton, MN, and I discovered her purely by happenstance. I happened to go to the McLeod County Fair in Hutchinson, MN, where Josie was performing that day. As I walked by, I heard her singing Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, who is one of my favorite songwriters. I thought, "this is great, her voice is amazing", and sat and listened to the rest of it. Then, she started the next song, and it was When the Stars Go Blue by Ryan Adams, who is another one of my favorite songwriters. By this time, I thought, "I have to look her up and find out what she's all about". I came to find out she performs pretty consistently around the Hutchinson area, and looked at her upcoming schedule and picked a date to see her perform again. After seeing a full show, I knew I had discovered someone truly great, and I have become a huge fan of her music, as well as her as a person. Josie sings primarily cover songs, although she did release an EP of originals under her maiden name of Josie Olson back in 2008, and has written some unrecorded songs. Beyond being a great musician, she is also a great person, with a big heart and always kind to my roommate and I anytime we see her (which is often). The last couple of years I have felt a growing connection to the music scene in Minnesota, it has really been an escape from the day to day stress and anxiety of life, and discovering Josie and her music has been one of the biggest parts of that journey. It's hard to describe the exact feeling, I would best describe it as feeling pulled towards something or someone that you can't quite explain, but know that it's worth your time. Josie has often told me "I hope you don't feel like you have to come to every show", but in all honesty, I feel that it's a privilege to see her perform, and to call her a friend. You can find Josie at the links below, if you live in her area or feel like taking a drive to hear some great music, I would recommend catching one of her shows sometime.
