Last Chance
Anthem

In 2008, songwriter Dave Tough was fighting for his life. Diagnosed with stage-three lymphoma, Dave spent weeks in a medically induced coma before ultimately beating cancer and emerging from one of the darkest chapters of his life.

His best friend and longtime co-writer, Justin Busch, was there through it all. The two had been writing together professionally for years, but their friendship had already become about something much bigger than music.

Inspired by Dave’s battle, and carrying the pain of losing his own father to cancer, Justin pursued the study of medicine while concurrently pursuing a career as a professional songwriter.

“To pursue two dreams like that, the passion truly has to be in your blood. I was exchanging things like food and sleep for time. All that mattered to me was music and medicine, nothing else.”— Justin Busch

What Justin never could have expected was that one of the sickest patients he would ever see as a doctor would be his best friend. Eight years later, in October 2016, Dave was fighting for his life again. His heart had suddenly failed, and under the pale lights of the Vanderbilt ICU, tethered to IVs, catheters, and drug pumps, Dave waited for his only chance at survival: a heart transplant. Justin had flown in and was sitting at his bedside.

In that moment, their success as professional songwriters seemed almost meaningless. As Dave puts it, “It’s crazy because suddenly the big things just seem small, and the small things seem non-existent.” Then, a miracle happened. A heart became available.

“One day you’re thinking about how things will be without you around, trying to say your goodbyes to your family, and then you’re given the gift of a second chance at life.”— Dave Tough

Dave received a new heart—and a new perspective. With that second chance, Dave and Justin continued their success, writing songs, building successful careers, and creating music for other artists, publishers, television, film, advertising, and more. But after more than two decades of writing together, something was still missing. There was something they needed to say together.

So, in 2026, they finally started a band.

“There’s just so much sadness and loneliness out there,” Justin says. “Dave and I have been through hell and back together. That’s why we are writing this uplifting music. If this is our one shot to say something, we just want to give the world joy, positivity, and unity. We want to show people you can emerge from the darkness with a light that shines even brighter than before.”

“We were given this last chance. These are the anthems.”— Dave Tough

Last Chance Anthem is Justin Busch of Orange County, California, and Dave Tough of Nashville, Tennessee. Their music blends power pop, indie rock, and Americana, combining infectious melodies and uplifting messages with the perspective that comes from having truly lived through the darkness.

Together, they are former staff writers whose music appears in Emmy-winning television shows, Oscar-winning films, major sports broadcasts, national advertising campaigns, and on Billboard-charting artists. Their honors include Grammy nominations, LA Film Award wins, Dove Award wins, and John Lennon and Songdoor grand prize wins. They are both voting members of The Recording Academy, members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and friends of the Guild of Music Supervisors.

They’ve been given a second chance. Now they’re using it to say something that matters.