Josey MilnerJosey Milner burst onto the international radio airwaves with her first release in September 2012, a cover version of Miranda Lambert's "Dead Flowers." The debut single from this Kansas City, MO native received airplay overseas in Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, UK, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Canada, Poland and Japan, while placing in the Top 10 of an internationally-recognized country music chart. Meanwhile, her Youtube video for another classic cover, Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight" has received more than 60,000 views. With recent performances at fairs and festivals in Kansas and Missouri, including a spot on the Missouri State Fair and an opener for country star Chris Cagle, this former teen rodeo and pageant princess is poised for stardom on the international country music stage.
Growing up on a small farm in Missouri, one might say that country is Josey's pedigree. At age 7, she began barrel racing at local rodeos, making the rodeo arena her first stage. She started singing the National Anthem at her youth rodeos, eventually graduating to performances at PRCA rodeos across Missouri and Kansas, including the American Royal in Kansas City. These anthem performances led to the decision for her to hang up her spurs and follow her dreams of country music fame.
Josey's country music career kicked off with her singing at country music shows, local fairs, and to pretty much anyone who would listen. In 2010, she was invited to sing on the main stage at the International Steel Guitar Show in St Louis. It was at this event that she received some sage-like advice from the veteran musicians: Get a band together, and get out there and start playing. After returning home from St. Louis, that's exactly what she did.
The Josey Milner Band has become one of the most sought-after live acts in the Kansas City area. Performing an ever-evolving and versatile mix of new country, classic country, country rock, and a little bit of Rock & Roll, Josey has led the band through raucous sets at Buffalo Bill Days, Slater Fall Festival, Holden Street Fair, Timbercreek, The Landing, and numerous others, performing for sold-out crowds and claiming the title of "Kansas City's Princess of Country Music." It was these live performances that attracted the interest of a national management company.
In September, Josey signed an exclusive artist management deal with MTS Management Group. Soon after, her single, "Dead Flowers" debuted on the Independent Music Network's country chart at #10, receiving tons of fan requests and international airplay. The song was also among the most downloaded on digital music delivery site, Airplay Direct. By November, Josey was ranked among the Top 200 International Artists by CMG Radio Network. Oh yeah...in the meantime, Josey earned recognition as a National Honor Society student!
In December 2012, Josey released her new single, "Not Pretty Enough," with veteran engineers Matthew Russo (Hall and Oates) and Larry Gann (Elton John) and producer, Micah Burdick. The single kicked off an anti-bullying campaign, with Josey as national spokesperson for Angels and Doves. The single was the second most-added at country radio (New Music Weekly) in its first week of release, and it reached #23 NMW and #105 Music Row. It is currently #6 Indie World. Josey is continuing with an extensive series of radio, print and online interviews, as well as taking her live shows to audiences across the Midwest and beyond. She recently performed at the Nascar Kobalt 400, for the Welcome Home Troops Benefit, the Teddy Bear Festival to benefit children's charities, and at a CMA Fest showcase in Nashville, this June. Josey recently opened to a sold out crowd of 1500 for American Idol winner Scotty McCreery in late June and CMT star, Jon Wolfe in July.
In January 2013, Josey embarked on her very first radio promotion tour, visiting stations in Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Oklahoma. Also that month, she was named as one of the Top 10 "Hottest New Stars" in a book from PDS Entertainment. In April, Josey was nominated for Most Promising Youth Artist at the 2013 Independent Country Music Association awards. One thing is for certain, wherever her music may take her, she will always remain the small-town girl with the rodeo spurs still hanging on her wall.
Written by Michael Stover/MTS Management Group
