If I were to construct a calendar of music, Jeremiah Nelson would have the August page on lockdown. Humid days, breezy sunsets, kids catching fireflies, cold beer, and apple pie; all the perfectly cliché aspects of the last remaining weeks of a sweet American summer are engulfed in Nelson’s beautifully intricate guitar picking and poetic, anecdotal lyrics.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
The Shitty Barn
Spring Green, WI
2 PM to 10 PM; $15
Nelson serenaded the fleeting nights of his hometown’s summer a couple weeks back on the rooftop of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and it was a wonderful preview of his Solskinn debut at The Shitty Barn this Saturday. His kind and gentle disposition along with gorgeous acoustics and a quiet but strong backing band creates a blissfully content ambiance and a comfortable setting for a mesmerized audience.[spacer height=”20px”]
[spacer height=”8px”]“Heart & Soul”
The opening track of Nelson’s May release, Whittier, “Heart & Soul” is a nostalgic tune with fluid picking and a jazzy snare rhythm, perfect for a barefoot slow dance with your significant other, mother, father, or a stranger who looks both familiar and brand new in the Midwestern sunset. [spacer height=”30px”]
[spacer height=”8px”]“Nothin to Lose”
A standout track from Nelson’s 2011 Drugs to Make You Sober, “Nothin to Lose” is a smooth, rolling crooner. It oozes regret, misfortune, and solitude but keeps an overlying feeling of hope, a motif that runs throughout much of Drugs.[spacer height=”30px”]
[spacer height=”8px”]“Skin to Touch”
“Skin to Touch” is one of Nelson’s country-er tunes. An ode to Midwest love, Nelson bobs back and forth between hardship and acceptance but comes back to that aforementioned hope that gives his music so much thematic meaning: “Counting seconds between lightning and thunder, I find diamonds in the dirt.”[spacer height=”30px”]
[spacer height=”8px”]“soundscape 082510”
The 16-minute penultimate track of Drugs to Make You Sober exemplifies Nelson’s experimental work with electronic soundscape, which we eventually come to hear more of on Whittier. A pensive epic with not much other than a few notes and a synthesizer, Nelson imitates gorgeous sounds of nature and its sleepy greeting to dawn.[spacer height=”10px”]
Jeremiah Nelson will perform at Solskinn Music Festival on Saturday, August 16 at The Shitty Barn in Spring Green, WI. Tickets are only $15 and can be purchased here.