Joshua Burnside has announced his powerful new album, It’s Not Going to be Okay (Released March 20th on Nettwerk), releasing the poignant and arresting lead single “Moon High” today (14th November).
The record is a profound meditation on loss, born in the wake of the death of Burnside’s closest friend, Dean Jendoubi. It marks his most stripped-back and unguarded work to date. He shared:
“I wrote and recorded this album after the death of my best friend Dean Jendoubi. He was an incredible person, and I miss him every day. He drifted unawares into the deepest sleep and died of a drug overdose on August 17th last year.
“Grief has always been a big part of my music; it’s the reason I started writing songs when I was 13. And so, as I did all those years ago, I reach for the guitar, try a few chords and sing a few words and for a brief moment I feel like it’s going to be okay.”
The new single, “Moon High,” details the complex, non-linear process of grieving. Burnside explains it as a period of denial and emotional self-preservation, where he told himself he was an “unemotional rock.” This illusion shattered unexpectedly:
Burnside explains, “When grief is just too big to process your mind has some tricks up its sleeve for self-preservation. Not long after Dean had died, I started telling myself that I didn’t care about it at all, that I didn’t care about him, or anyone even, and that I was an unemotional rock that could handle anything thrown at me. So, I just kept myself busy and kept my head down and soldiered on as if nothing had happened. Of course, that could only last so long, but that was the only way I could deal with it at that particular time. I completely broke down whilst parked at the side of the road, something about the crescent moon, high up in the blue sky that afternoon made me feel sad and it all came out then.”
Stream Moon High: https://joshuaburnside.ffm.to/moonhigh
While Burnside is lauded for his intricate, layered production—blending Irish folk with electronica and found sounds—It’s Not Going to be Okay pares everything back. The album favours tender, unflinching acoustic balladry and poetic lyrics, with each track serving “like an entry into a grief journal.”
Following the critically acclaimed Teeth of Time, which earned an RTE 1 Folk Award nomination, Burnside is now wrapping up a US tour and preparing for a major UK and EU headline tour in 2026.
It’s Not Going to be Okay Tour Dates:
Feb 7 – Letterkenny – Lasta Festival
Mar 21 – Manchester – Hallé St Peter’s
May 1 – Cork – Cyprus Avenue
May 2 – Dublin – Button Factory
May – Glasgow – Oran Mor
May 7 – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
May 9 – Stroud – Prince Albert (2 shows 14:00 & 21:00)
May 10 – London – EartH Theatre
May 11 – Bristol – Beacon
June 17 – Falmouth – Cornish Bank
June 18 – Totnes – Barrel House
June 19 – Frome – The Tree House
June 20 – Milton Keynes – Craufurd Arms
June 21 – Beverley – Beverley Folk Festival
August 15 – Belfast – Custom House Square (Foy Vance show)