“Journos has that rare ability to make a statement while remaining entertaining and musically engaging.” — Malcolm Burn, DJ @ WKNY & Grammy-winning producer The new JOURNOS single “Noble Cause” is a 2:45 roots-rock gut punch that cuts through the partisan noise with one simple, powerful truth: Love is still the only noble cause. With their sophomore album, The Burning Question, just weeks away, Journos returns with their Springsteen-meets-Stapleton second single. Journos is the unlikely but undeniable collaboration of punk-pedigreed guitarist Ryan Abbott and bluecollar balladeer Bryan Russo.
Two road worn artists with wildly different resumes but a shared obsession: telling stories that hit hard and hang around. Abbott cut his teeth on the boardwalks and basement bars of Ocean City, Maryland, scraping together gigs and saving summer-job money to buy his first Strat. That teenage hustle turned into a genre-spanning musical education, from surf punk tours with The Phantom Limbs, to studio musician, to acoustic gems with The Dead Pens.
He has worked in reggae, soul, funk, and folk; and somehow managed to write a 22- minute rock opera about the Elephant Man along the way. Russo meanwhile, carved out his own lane in the Mid-Atlantic with six independent albums and a voice that’s drawn comparisons to Billy Joel and a young Tom Waits. His 2018 album Pennsyltucky was a finalist in the Great American Song Contest, and he has shared the stage with Lukas Nelson, Trombone Shorty, and The War and Treaty. Together, Abbott and Russo are Journos: A roots-rock outfit with the grit of old-school punk, the heart of classic Americana, and the lyrical muscle of two guys who’ve lived a few lives already. Their 2022 debut In The Key of WTF! earned spins on college and indie radio nationwide, and their new material, including the upcoming album The Burning Question, pushes even deeper into the fire.
