Hursley began his entertainment career after participating in the Schick "Groove n' Smooth" national talent search in 1999. He won the talent search, and started a karaoke company at age 19. He became well known in Austin nightlife scene as Karaoke Joe, going on to perform over five-hundred shows the next few years.
In late 2004, Hursley started the Los Angeles-based rock and roll band and Sunset Strip staples, The Ringers, with whom he released the albums "Tokyo Massage III" and "Headlocks and Highkicks". They appeared in the Miami Ink episode "Ruthless and Toothless". The Ringers were featured in SPIN magazine in 2007. They also performed on stage in Accepted and were the only unsigned band to be featured on the movie Soundtrack.
After The Ringers broke up in 2010, Joe and his cousin Patrick Hursley (the Drummer of The Ringers) formed the indie rock band Indians. They released their self-titled debut in 2011. The first music video, "Sink Into You", was written and directed by Jordan Albertsen, and starred Joslyn Jensen and Taylor Handley.
He then appeared in major films including Accepted, Resident Evil: Extinction and Fast and Furious, which led him to his first starring feature role with cult Director Penelope Spheeris in Balls to the Wall (2011).
Music by the Indians was featured in the 2012 film Rites of Passage, and the television shows Top Gear, and MTV's Catfish.
In 2013 Indians changed their name to We Were Indians, and released their debut album that same year.
