Meet Carter Joseph | Vocalist and musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carter Joseph and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carter, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Taking risks has been the biggest contributor to my success. Some of the biggest stages I’ve had the privilege of performing on I didn’t think I would be invited to. Gaining the courage to put yourself out there is hard but it’s what has gotten me noticed. It’s true that you’ll never know if you don’t try.
I changed my whole life moving to Colorado from my home state, Pennsylvania. I took a leap of faith when I auditioned for Denver Fashion Week. I took a risk investing in my musical career without any idea if it will pay off. But without those risks I wouldn’t be where I am today with the opportunities that I have.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
After I was in the talent competition at An-Other Night I slowly began to get offers and opportunities for gigs and shows. I began putting myself out there more and reaching out to venues to be an entertainer. It hasn’t always been easy, it can take a lot of time and money to record, produce and release music. That is something I am still working towards. Right now, I am working hard to build more of a portfolio for myself to show the world what makes me different.
I write songs about my personal experiences and hardships. I want the people who hear or see my music to get a real sense of who I am. My favorite song I’ve written, “You Can’t Get Rid of Us,” is about some of the struggles I have faced and witnessed as someone who is transgender, non-binary. My biggest goal currently is to not hide any part of who I am to appease any person or audience.
Some of the accomplishments I am most proud of is performing as an entertainer at Denver Fashion Week fall ’23. As well as being on Denver Pride’s main stage this summer (2024) with my close friend and musical companion, Vio the Violinist.
I still find myself facing challenges all the time in my music career. Trying to balance a regular work life with building myself from the ground up. Trying to find your audience is also quite difficult in the age of social media where you’re constantly competing against everyone else who wants the same thing. Affording the equipment needed to properly showcase what I am capable of has probably been my biggest challenge, but I have been determined to do whatever it takes to get where I need to be.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many beautiful and fun places to see in Denver. I love to go to Cheesman or City Park to relax. To show off how cool the city is I love to take people to Meow Wolf or the Church of Cannabis for their classic rock light show. I’m always taking my friends to Watercourse, a 100% vegan restaurant, or to Hudson Hill to get a deliciously crafted cocktail. You might even find me playing pool at Locales Taco and Tequilia in the Cap Hill neighborhood.
I find myself spending weekend nights in Denver’s queer scene at X Bar to be a part of my community, I love to watch drag there! Other times I explore the almost endless bars on South Broadway that has my favorite late night pizza shop, Pie Hole. I also go to shows at Your Moms House and Lost Lake to support and appreciate other local Denver musicians. You’ll also find me driving into the Rocky Mountains for some fresh air and time away from the city, I often go out to Boulder, Golden, Morrison and other places around the state that has breath taking views.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
An-Other Open Mic is the organization I would like to dedicate my shoutout to. It is now a discontinued open mic but when it was running it was a safe space for me to explore my desire to become an artist. It was the second place I sang in front of an audience since I was in middle school. The community there gave me so much encouragement and gave me my first showcase opportunity. The open mic also had a several week competition that helped build me up to becoming the musician I am today, helping me gain the confidence I needed.

Instagram: carterjoseph.mp3

Youtube: Carter Joseph Music

Other: TikTok: carterjoseph.mp3

Image Credits
Josh Cartin (1st photo)
Ramon Sotelo (2nd & 3rd photo)
Alyssa Boone (4th & 5th photo)
Jacob Hardas (6th & 7th photo)