Meet Justin Bowman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Bowman.

Hi Justin, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born into a family where music was prevalent and all around me as a kid. My earliest memories are of my father singing. The house was filled with music and was part of daily life for me from as early as I can remember. And when I wasn’t listening to it in the home I grew up in it was at church. My father was one of the best song leaders in our area. And was known by man and floated around to different churches when called upon. So sometimes we would spend 3 days out of the week or more singing hymns. Some of my earliest experiences with a crowd were following in my father’s footsteps leading congressional singing.

I don’t remember the exact age but I had to be around 8. One Christmas I woke up and there was an acoustic guitar under the tree. My dad had befriended Joe Chambers (Who recently passed and owned the Musicians Hall Of Fame and other ventures here in Nashville) and Joe hooked my father up with an acoustic guitar for me for Christmas. I was in love from the word go, In my earliest days of music I had gotten into my father’s record collection. I remember getting into them and pulling out the vinyl and trying to figure out how to put them in position to play them being mystified. I think the very first record I put on was either “Sweethearts of the Rodeo” By the Byrds or “You Don’t Mess around with Jim” by Jim Croce. But Gordon Lightfoot, CCR, Waylon Jennings, and Merle Haggard would all become Huge influences on me through my early years.

I grew up on a farm in Middle Tennessee working beef cattle with my father and my grandparents. In 2003 I was working on that farm putting some shrubbery around the driveway when I noticed my breathing was not good and started feeling ill and had not been well for a while. So they took me in and I had been diagnosed with Kidney failure. I spent Christmas of 2003 on Dialysis. I would then spend a year on those machines helping me live till God blessed me with a no-miss-match kidney transplant. A one a million match. Which means it’s like a twin giving you a kidney.

Unbelievably rare. Before the transplant and while still on Dialysis my mother had entered me into The Make a Wish Foundation. They contacted my Mother and since I was 18, they accepted me. My mother told me and I was so excited, I thought the possibilities were endless with that. So, I started brainstorming on what I wanted. They were suggesting a trip to Disney World or Hawaii. But I knew right off what I wanted. I wanted a home studio. So, my mother told them. And she went to Sam Ash in gelatin with people representing the make a wish foundation. They picked out a bunch of stuff for me and I was over the moon.

Time passed for a while and I was going to Dialysis three days a week Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was not easy. But I was overjoyed knowing that soon I might be able to record and work on songs I have written in my time down. My downtime was pretty much the foundation for developing the hunger for songwriting to pour out some emotion and it was very healing. I also started to develop my picking and my playing style, Then one day my mom told me we were going to eat with some people from the wish foundation, we ate and talked about eventually getting the studio put in. I was running thin on patience. I wanted to get started writing and recording. Little did I know that when we returned home it was all set up. I was so happy. Happy doesn’t explain it. I walked around looking at everything. A computer, a mixer, tons of mics a drum set. Everything I needed. Then the lady from making a wish walks in. Behind me and hands me an acoustic guitar case. It was a Gibson Hummingbird, A guitar that I have written most of my songs on and have had for 18 years now. My mother knew I wanted a really good guitar. And she knew I really like Gibson’s, so there it was. Right before me. My Dream Guitar and a setup that has so much promise.

And I believe it was one of the major factors in keeping me going to eventually get healthy again. Later on, after my transplant. I was at Guitar Center in Nashville. It was 2007 3 years post-transplant. I heard amazing guitar playing. It was Luca Olivieri and Johnny Hiland. Lucas was one of Italy’s finest Country Guitar players. And Johnny (Who became like a brother to me) was one of Nashville’s if not the world’s finest guitar players and chicken pickers,
My father went up to john after they finished picking together and checking out an amp. A whole crowd had gathered and there is a YouTube video of this with dad shaking his hand that I might find if need be. They shook hands and dad got his info and Johnny told him to contact him. Later on, a while after dad sends off a thank you to johnny for being so kind to me, and it takes johnny a while to respond due to his management at the time. But johnny calls dad up long after this and strikes up a friendship with dad and dad calls me at my grand folk’s place and tells me I got a phone call coming. It was John and he told me to come over and pick him up and eat with him. So, we did, and it struck up one of the best brotherhoods I’ve ever witnessed, over my time with John I had written songs for him.

Which are on his albums, written with Hal Ketchum, Had an Album done for me by johnny. And made so many friendships in the industry. With Johnny, I think I wrote around 300 songs. So that made me woodshed the craft to learn the writing process. Music has been a blessing that latterly saved my life, and has kept me positive and going for my 36 years on earth. And I still find no greater joy than sitting down and creating something that didn’t exist into something that I can stand on a stage and share with the world. I don’t know if I would be alive today without the magic of music and its power of healing and perseverance.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a singer, writer, and musician. I perform my songs all over the middle Tennessee area.

I am proud of gaveling 6 cuts on Johnny Highlands’ record and having the opportunity to write with great writers like Hal Ketchum. And having the ability to help people with my music.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
If you’re passionate about something, then pursuing it is never a loss, never give up and never settle for less than you deserve.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @onetallsong
• Youtube: @OneTallSong

Image Credits
Johnny Hiland and Steve Wariner