Some songs feel like they were written because they had to be, not because someone set out to write them. “The Witness” is one of those songs. When Joseph Kuhl sings, you can hear a lifetime behind every word—decades of traveling, listening, teaching, and living in places where the headlines aren’t just headlines. They’re people he knows. Friends. Stories that stayed with him. The song starts simply, almost gently, but there’s a weight in the air from the very first line. Kuhl doesn’t dramatize anything; he doesn’t need to. He’s not trying to shock or preach—he’s just telling the truth as someone who’s spent many years watching the Middle East up close. When he sings about Gaza, it doesn’t sound like commentary. It sounds like grief.
The band around him—John Neff on guitar, Carlton Owens on drums, Jason Fuller on keys—brings the song to life in a way that feels organic, not overthought. You can feel that it all came together in a single night. There’s a looseness and an honesty to the recording that only happens when musicians trust each other and trust the moment. The analog warmth from The Last House Studio makes everything feel even more alive… or maybe “alive” isn’t the right word. Maybe “real” is. Kuhl’s voice carries the whole thing. It’s strong, but not polished; emotional, but never theatrical. It’s the voice of someone who has spent a long time trying to find the right words, and finally did. There’s a line his collaborator said to him—“You’ve been writing this song your whole life.” That’s exactly what “The Witness” sounds like: a song that waited for the right moment, and the right version of the songwriter, to appear. The courage behind the track is easy to overlook if you’re not paying attention. Some musicians turned down involvement out of fear for their families’ safety. The release was delayed for months. In an industry that often avoids anything that feels too heavy, too political, or too uncomfortable, the fact that this song exists at all is meaningful. Kuhl doesn’t soften anything. He doesn’t hide from the pain, or the controversy, or the responsibility. He simply says what he’s seen. What we’ve all seen, if we’re honest.
But what stands out most isn’t the politics. It’s the humanity. “The Witness” doesn’t tell you what to think. It just asks you not to look away. And somehow, in a world where everything feels fast and loud and forgettable, a song like this slows you down. It asks you to breathe. To feel something. To remember that wars aren’t just ideas—they’re children, families, people caught in the middle of something they didn’t choose. Joseph Kuhl has made a brave song, but more importantly, he’s made a deeply human one. It stays with you long after it ends, not because of its message alone, but because of the honesty with which it’s delivered.
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