Josie Langhorst: Diary of a Minnesota Musician, Chapter 12
This is the final chapter in a year-long series following Josie Langhorst, a Minnesota artist new to the Twin Cities, as she shares her experiences entering the scene and making music in a new environment.
August 2026
A year ago we opened this diary without knowing how the story would end. That was, in many ways, the entire point. Diary of a Minnesota Musician was never meant to document a perfectly plotted rise, a checklist of milestones, or some inevitable march toward success. It was meant to capture the messier space in between like the shows that happened and the ones that didn't, the songs still taking shape, and all the quiet moments when being a musician had less to do with standing on a stage and more to do with figuring out who you were when you stepped off of it.
Josie Langhorst let us into that space. We watched someone arrive in a new city carrying expectations about music, community and what it meant to "make it," only to discover that some of the most important parts of the journey couldn't be measured by a calendar full of gigs. Minneapolis challenged her, surprised her, broke apart some of her plans and handed her new ones.
For our final entry, there was no better person to hand the pen to. These last questions aren't really about where Josie goes next. They're about looking backward at the person who arrived here a year ago, recognizing the distance between then and now, and accepting that some stories are allowed to end without knowing exactly what comes after the final piece.
Adventures in Americana: It's officially been a year since you moved to the Twin Cities. If you could sit down with the version of yourself that packed up in Duluth last August, what would you tell her?
Josie Langhorst: If I could travel back to a year ago and tell my past self one thing, I'd tell her to stress about the right things. Sometimes when I'm overthinking a situation, I'm so focused on myself and how it affects me. In that pattern of overthinking I’d spiral and spiral for so long but I wouldn’t actually be going anywhere, moving forward, or figuring out the problem. I’d shut down, procrastinate. Although I do find reveling in sadness a great songwriting tool, I’d tell my past self to get up and find something else to revel in. I’d tell her to let go of the small stuff that she lets affect her so much. Then I’d tell her to get up and figure it out.
AIA: Do you think Minneapolis has changed you more as a musician or more as a person?
Josie: Moving here has changed me so much as a person, but maybe it’s a reflection of who I’ve been the whole time but wasn’t able to let out. I’m a reflection of my neighbors, community, and friends. I feel better about being myself. It may be the fact that there’s hundreds of new faces to pass by every day, or that I’ve just gained the confidence to not feel bad about the space I take up.
AIA: Looking back through this entire year, what moment do you think changed everything, even if it didn’t seem significant at the time?
Josie: The moment that quietly changed everything was Moxen breaking up. I knew it would be a change and I figured it would be a negative one. Immediately I imagined a musical slump. Being a part of that project gave me so much confidence—I loved the scene, I loved the music, I loved the energy. The band breaking up also showed me to not be so naive. Sometimes the scene is not all rainbows and butterflies. I didn’t let it slump me, I let it motivate me. Things started falling into place when my dear friend Lee asked me to join their solo project and we started writing new songs. We found an outlet in each other and intertwined our ideas to make sad, sometimes-weird, amazing music.
AIA: Has your definition of “making it” changed since moving here? If so, what does success look like today compared with a year ago?
Josie: A year ago success looked like regular gigs, a big group of friends in the scene and possibly making some money from gigs. Quickly I went from wanting to “make it” to “let’s make it through the week.” With job searching going extremely poorly, and all the stressors that come with being a young adult in a city they’ve never lived in before, I was struggling. Along the way I recognized I needed to focus on the journey instead of the end goal. If I “make it” I make it! If not, I’ll know I had fun.
AIA: What excites you most about Parties With Strangers that maybe wasn’t there in previous projects?
Josie: The aspect of Parties With Strangers that I’m most excited for is the creative level that Lee and I are on. I LOVE Lee’s brain, and especially how we can get on the same wavelength and collaborate with no stress. As chronic worriers, we just had a reassuring conversation a couple weeks ago about how we were so grateful to have found each other in this city. And how we just accept each other for who we are. We are allowed to be weird, we’re allowed to take up space, we’re allowed to be confident, and there’s never judgment. Which just fuels our energy for music and collaborating on music.
AIA: What’s one creative risk you’ve taken this year that you’re proud you didn’t talk yourself out of?
Josie: Finally putting out my album. I was scared of how the public, and specifically my hometown, would react to my art. I was so self-conscious about what I created and didn’t feel like it was good enough to be put into the world. I’m grateful now to be in a space where I’m proud of my art and know that people can connect to it.
AIA: How have collaboration and friendship influenced your songwriting over the last year?
Josie: They’ve had a big influence on my songwriting. Getting to live with my friends brings me so much joy. I dance more often, I sing more often, I feel I have more opportunities to live. When I collaborate songwriting with Amri or Lee there’s so much creativity and so many ideas. Another form of collaboration that’s influenced me is jamming! I love the idea of not having a plan and everybody just adding their ideas on top of others’ ideas. It’s always beautiful.
AIA: If someone read all twelve chapters back-to-back, what do you hope they understand about being a young musician trying to build a life in a new city?
Josie: I’d hope they'd take away that change is inevitable (ha, Langertson reference) and it’s also scary. I wish I knew how everybody processed change and pain and time but all I know is my own experience. And I wish I was good at giving advice so if you do relate to anything I’ve said, I could tell you how to get ahead of the game, avoid my mistakes and handle every situation. But unfortunately that only comes with time.
AIA: Is there anything you failed at this year that you’re actually grateful for?
Josie: A failure that ended up being a blessing in disguise was the fact that I didn’t book a ton of gigs. That gave me more time to make connections at my job, explore this new place, and lay a foundation to start building on. Honestly I think I would’ve been too overwhelmed if I had booked a ton of shows and been busy every weekend. I’m grateful that I had the time to change as a person in order to become a better musician.
AIA: When we recorded our very first interview, you were standing at the edge of a completely unknown chapter. Today, sitting here a year later, do you feel like you’ve become the person you were hoping to find when you decided to move to Minneapolis?
Josie: I am becoming the person that I am supposed to become. I believe everything will work out how it’s supposed to work out. I still have dreams and big shoes to fill, and fill them I will; I just don’t know what they look like yet.
A year ago we started documenting a young musician trying to find her footing in the Twin Cities. Twelve months later, the most meaningful change may be that she no longer seems quite as concerned with knowing exactly where her feet are supposed to take her.
Maybe that’s the last lesson this diary gets to leave behind. Becoming doesn’t happen all at once. Sometimes it happens in songs. Sometimes in apartments filled with friends. Sometimes through heartbreak, missed opportunities, new bands, old fears, late-night conversations and the simple decision to keep showing up. You rarely recognize the moment your life is changing while you’re standing inside of it. That’s why we keep diaries. Not to know how the story ends. But to look back someday and realize just how far we’ve come.
About the Author & Photographer
Tom Smouse. Photo Credit: Chris Taylor.
Tom Smouse is an innovative collaborator with 20 years of experience in the Minnesota music industry. As a professional photographer, podcaster, and music journalist, sharing stories from the community remains his core passion. When not at a show you can find him at a record store.
