Local Artist Spotlight on Josh McCabe

by Jay Meiliunas

Josh McCabe grew up in Port Perry, attended R.H. Cornish Public School and Port Perry High School, graduating in 2005. He started playing guitar and drums in church, at what is now known as Emmanuel Community Church, when he was about 10 or 11 years old. Josh grew up playing music in a youth group there, learning how to sing and play guitar.

"We used to do these youth events and concerts there, when I was in high school." said Josh.

After graduating high school, he went on tour with a band, selling T-shirts. It was an excellent opportunity to learn how the industry works. He did that for about eight months, before joining a band called Hello Kelly, as their drummer.

"That influenced me to learn more about my craft and how to put on events, work with sound systems, lighting, and all the technical fun stuff." explained Josh.

Josh got to tour all over North America, visiting almost every state and playing shows for audiences, ranging from 3000 to sometimes 30 people. After a while, he got tired of touring all the time and being on the road, he ended up settling down and taking a job at a church in Ajax. Josh travelled from Port Perry to Ajax, working at C4 Church, now Sanctus Church.

He and his sister started a band together, playing church music for some time. They were doing a lot with their age group, young adults and college students. They travelled extensively for a while, and it was at this time Josh felt he stepped into his own as a singer and songwriter.

Following that season, he got married and moved to Whitby. He has two children, a daughter, Adelaide, who is 12, and son, London, who is 10. Both of them were born at Lakeridge Health Port Perry.

"That was the most exciting, fun, memorable moment of my life: meeting my wife, getting married, and welcoming our two amazing kids," he stated.

It was around the birth of his son Josh started writing songs which told stories. He explained, "It felt more like country songs."

In 2014, he released an album called 'Caves' and performed in Toronto, at the Air Canada Centre, which is Scotiabank Arena now, as well as several other arenas around North America, all to support the album.

That journey and the name for the Band, 'Caves,' came from a burnout season he went through, in 2013. At this point, he left his job at the church and took a year's sabbatical. During that year off, they lived with his parents in Port Perry, where he spent time re-calibrating. That's where the songs for Caves came from. They moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2017 and lived there for a few years, while touring and travelling with Caves.

"It was excellent for our family. I was doing a lot of songwriting down there and made a lot of great relationships,” he explained.

Then, in 2020, the pandemic hit, and all touring stopped. Josh then had 30 dates on the calendar cancelled, all at once, which was a complete shock. When that happened, he started reconsidering living in the United States. They missed Canada, missed their families, and ended up settling in Guelph, Ontario, where he shifted things to a country/rock genre. They released a single, on country radio, called 'Where I Want to Be,' which was also picked up by SiriusXM.

Caves ended up winning the Burlington Sound of Music Festival, the emerging artist battle of the bands, and playing on the main stage there in 2023. This summer, they released a new single, called 'High on the Moment,' which Josh wrote about his wife and how it felt so much like they were dating just yesterday....oh how fast time goes by.

Josh remembers having a several jobs in Port Perry. "My first job was delivering papers which I did when I was 12. When I was 13 or 14, I got a job at The Piano Inn and Cafe which was brand new then. I have many fond memories of working in the town and being part of Port Perry culture".

"I'm excited, on Saturday, September 21st, we're going to be playing at the Winding Roads Festival, with Steven Lee Olsen, in Port Perry,” he said.

It will be the first time, in a while, he has had the opportunity to play in Port Perry with the whole band.

They have also been named the Wild Card entry to, the Country Music Festival, 'Boots and Hearts,' through the Emerging Artist Competition.

For more information about the Josh McCabe and the band go to their website, at thebandcaves.com, or find more on their Instagram and Facebook accounts, at The Band Caves.