Joshua Lubben & Michael Lubben & Tommy Lubben shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Joshua & Michael & Tommy, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity. Without it, both intelligence and energy are useless.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
We’re the Lubben Brothers, triplets from the farmlands of Iowa who’ve been making music our whole lives. We’ve been a professional folk band for the last 10 years, and recently moved to Nashville to expand our growth.
To be clear, we’re not only a folk band as it pertains to genre, but also in a historical sense. So besides having all the trappings of a folk band (i.e., acoustic instruments, vocal harmonies, roots influence), we are continuing in the footsteps of folksingers such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan, who believed – as Guthrie said – that “a folk song is what’s wrong, and how to fix it”: that what we write and perform should impact, critique, and empower others to create a better world.
So currently, we’re writing and recording a 2-volume “Storytellers” album, filled with songs that are intended to cause necessary societal change. The first single from that album, “The Progress Express,” released just two weeks ago and can be found wherever music is streamed.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
Growing up on a goat farm in Iowa, the 3 of us assumed we’d either become farmers like all our immediate family, or go into business like our dad. Now, as full-time musicians earning a living in Nashville, it’s wild to think about what our lives would’ve looked like if we never pursued our passion for music!
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
If you’ve never felt like giving up, you’ve never tried that hard. All of us, especially when we’re chasing a passion, hit breaking points, and we’ve hit them over and over throughout the years. But no matter how rocky or deflated we’ve felt, the conviction that we were created to impact the world with our art and our songs has always kept us moving forward.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
In the music industry, you’re constantly being told to imitate all the “successful” artists, to jump on their bandwagon and profit from their success. But if you make it big being someone you weren’t meant it be, does that mean anything? For us, it’s so much more important to be true to who we were created to be than to chase some fleeting idea of success.
When it’s all said and done, living, breathing, and thinking as your authentic self is true success whether or not it comes with money or fame.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Getting hung up on small things. None of that matters when there’s a real ticking clock and you’ve got a lot of necessary work to do!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thelubbenbrothers.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelubbenbrothers/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelubbenbrothers
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcduWonkMb-7YFl3lYuU0Dw
- Other: Spotify (The Lubben Brothers): https://open.spotify.com/artist/3gnNCWbEGCR01Mukir6K3Z?si=-NHupVBlQoqtpEPW7mKCfA
Image Credits
WUWF Public Media, Mindy Smith, Joel Henson, Katie Lubben
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
