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.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
“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.
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.