From September 14th, Joshua Burnside will set off on his biggest tour to date. Including an unmissable show alongside Junior Brother at Empire Music Hall on November 1st as part of this year’s Belfast International Arts Festival, the Belfast folk maestro will play shows in cities including New York, Los Angeles, London and Berlin. Ahead of that, we talk to Burnside about travel, success, his forthcoming second album and more.

Go here to buy tickets to Joshua Burnside at Empire Music Hall

Hi Joshua. You’re about to head off on a world tour, which includes dates in New York, Los Angeles, London and Berlin. How vital is travel to you as an artist? Do you find it’s conducive to inspiration and your songwriting process generally?

Yeah, it’s definitely vital. Unfortunately, I’m not a great flyer. Which isn’t a useful attribute for a touring musician. If I could get a Stenaline to New York I would, I don’t care how long it would take. But apart from all that I love getting to see places and meeting people that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise if it wasn’t for the music.

It’s a milestone in your career to date. So many artists struggle to stop, take a breath and recognise what they’ve achieved to date. Do you recognise that in yourself or are you able to appreciate what you personally consider “success” as it happens?

I think defining what you consider to be success, early on, and reminding yourself of what that is now and again is a healthy habit. But I think it’s even more important to regularly consider all the other people that have helped you, and are helping you, even if it’s just in small ways, to achieve whatever those goals are.

You also perform alongside the brilliant Junior Brother at this year’s Belfast International Arts Festival in November. How are you feeling about that show, in terms of where it lies in the tour and playing on the same bill as Ronan?

I’m excited to kick off the UK tour in Belfast, especially in The Empire as it’s one of my favourite places to play. And Junior Brother was the first act that came to mind when we were planning the show as I’d been listening to Pull the Right Rope a lot and it’s just such a brilliant, weird and exciting album.