Monarch Artist Feature: Dusty Bo

By Kelsey Knott • Photos By Matt Johnson

On his latest record V8, Dusty Bo sings “Lost Boy Blues,” urging those on unconventional, independent paths not to let life’s changes stop them from going for that big dream.

His love for music was first ignited at our beloved Louisville Palace when his parents brought him to an Earth, Wind, and Fire concert, his first at age seven. “Seeing the guitar players come to center stage and how much fun they were having… I was like, I want it. I want one of those. My parents got me a guitar for Christmas that year.” From then on, he dreamed of traveling around and playing guitar as a professional musician, envisioning a life like the film Almost Famous. As a rock vocalist and musician, he has toured all over the continent with several bands, spending about a decade in Los Angeles and finding his way back home in 2018. Dusty lives in Nashville full time but frequents Louisville, taking on artist coach and mentoring roles in addition to his own projects, Dusty Bo and Dusty Bo and the Contraband.

Through his experiences with different bands, he’s learned that songwriting should be about enjoying playing and singing it. “I’ve been in bands and thought, ‘Is this something people are going to want to sing along to? Is it going to be a hit song on the radio? What movie would it get played on?’ After doing that for years, I found something very special in writing a song just for yourself, exactly the way you want it to be.” In his songwriting, Dusty finds inspiration mainly in people and hopes those who hear his songs feel inspired to do something special to them. “I love writing songs about and for people. It’s a wonderful gift to give somebody and a great way to express yourself with more than words. The feeling you want to get across with instruments, melodies, chord progressions, and vibes you choose, you can truly paint a picture for somebody.” He reminds us that songwriting is a skill, and nobody starts out good at it, but there’s no right or wrong way of doing it if you just start. “It’s an endless universe of creativity. Just try it. Get into it or be around it however you can, even if nobody ever hears or reads it. Do something special, whether you’re trying to be a rockstar or music is your therapy, creative outlet, or hobby.” 

As a born and raised Louisvillian, Dusty is proud of the city’s progress in its music sector. “It’s cool that there’s so many pockets of different genres and a lot of culture and places for people to grab inspiration from.” In the innovation and early development days of The Monarch, Dusty was there. “Even without being a founding member, the shows I’ve seen there, the experiences I’ve had there, the connections and networking there prove how it’s made positive impacts on so many people. That’s been the coolest thing to me–seeing how much it feeds people’s souls and helps them on their creative path.” Whether being there to grow musically or to find friendship in a creative community, The Monarch fuels a family-like space with Mark Roberts’ mantra: Music brings us together, and together we can make a difference. 

Much like The Monarch, Dusty has also found a home at Mom’s Music, Louisville’s music store that has been influencing Kentucky’s music community for five decades. “To me, it’s the best music store in the world. I’ve been shopping here since I was thirteen, so over 25 years now. They develop musicians of all ages and calibers, whether it’s through their rock school program teaching how to be in bands, or lessons, or just making sure that somebody who wants to play has the instrument in their hands. They should write the book on how to run a music store, and I can’t say enough good things about them.”

Find more of Dusty Bo on dustybomusic.com and follow his socials!