MSU alumnus Josh Byrd will take the Bulldog Deli stage Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Byrd said that he is such a devoted fan to the Bulldogs that he even schedules his tour dates around the football games.
“I’m so excited,” he said. “Ever since we got signed up to do this, I have just been ready to come back. I love Starkville, I am a Bulldog season ticket holder, and I sometimes even try to do my touring schedule around the games,” Byrd said.
Among Byrd’s extensive touring schedule includes places like Thailand, New Zealand and other international venues where he has performed for mission work.
In fact, Byrd’s singing career started in church, and he has even sung at churches in Starkville.
“I started out playing in churches. I actually played at the Methodist Church in Starkville while I was in college. I started playing for a lot of mission organizations, and it has kind of grown into playing other venues and stepping outside of the Christian music [genre] and into more of an integration of my life.”
A lot of Byrd’s songs deal with happiness, sadness and fun times that he has experienced throughout life.
“There are some songs that will touch people. There are some that are just designed to make people feel good. I want people to walk away feeling good having had a good time,” said Byrd.
Byrd and his band will mostly be playing songs off of his new album entitled Happiness as well as a preview of some of the songs that will be on his next CD that will be released sometime next year.
Co-coordinator of Bulldog Bash Tyler Wolfe said he believes that Byrd will be a strong addition to the Bulldog Bash line-up.
“He is an MSU alumnus, and he has a rock and roll sound, so it’ll be really interesting,” Wolfe said.
Byrd left for Nashville right after graduation to pursue his music career, but it wasn’t always easy.
“I was a waiter for a year. During that time I was working on my music. We put out the first record and spent some time, while I was still waiting tables, booking a tour,” he said. “As soon as it was booked up, I quit my job and just did it.”
During Byrd’s first year of touring he played over 150 days. “I had a great time and a great learning experience, and I got to play all over the world,” Byrd said.
Since then, Byrd has devoted his time into writing and teaming up with some of Nashville’s top writers to broaden the scope of his music.
“I have been working with a bunch of writers that have added some new stuff. We have been getting a lot of good responses,” Byrd said.
Byrd said he looks forward to coming back to Starkville, where he will give his first performance since his graduation.
“It’s kind of a homecoming. My family and friends will be there, and there will be a lot of new faces that I am excited to introduce all my music to. I think everyone will like it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”