‘All about giving back’: Floyd County native brings new band back home

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WYMT) - Josh Martin found his love for music in the mountains. Now, with his new band, he is coming home to play for the people who are still planted in the place he considers home.

The Wood Box Heroes, Martin’s Nashville band, are scheduled to hit the stage at the Mountain Arts Center next weekend, sending the Allen Central graduate back down memory lane.

“The shows I had the opportunity to see at the Mountain Arts Center as a kid, be it Ricky Skaggs or even the Kentucky Opry, really made a major imprint on how I saw my future,” Martin said.

So, now that he is following his dreams, he wants to use the platform to give the kids in the region the same opportunity. Any student enrolled in a Floyd County School will be admitted to the concert at half price.

“This thing, to me, is all about giving back,” Martin said. “I remember walking through the halls of Allen Central High back in the day and wondering what on earth I was gonna do with the rest of my life, never dreaming I would be standing on stage with a group of my musical heroes.”

The band, which is said to be “cut from the cloth of the bluegrass music tradition” with “a fresh, new take on the acoustic genre” has opened for Jamey Johnson, George Strait, and more. The band also includes Matt Menefee, Jenee Fleenor, Seth Taylor, and Barry Bales- bringing together some award-winning musicians who have collaborated with some of the industry’s biggest names.

The show is set for April 8 at 7:30 p.m.

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