Our Song of the Day comes from Nicholas Edward Williams, whom between 2007 to 2018, performed under the folk-soul moniker of “Whetherman“. During those years, he independently released eight full-length albums while continually touring across the US, as well as throughout the UK and Western Europe. Williams was also afforded opportunities to opened for acclaimed acts such as Taj Mahal and The Wood Brothers. By mid-2017, Williams had hit a wall in his personal life and musical career, after nearly six years without a reasonable break. He decided to cancel two months of tours, and moved to Central America for seven months, by far the longest step back since launching the project. His goal was to reframe his mentality and find a spark. This led to an evolution in musical style, dropping the “Whetherman” moniker and a desire to set forth performing under his full name starting in 2019.
He tells us “I’ve become a student again. I’m absolutely fascinated with tracing American music back to its immigrant roots, and how these styles have woven the fabric of string music as we know it today.”
Watch him performing the beautifully uplifting and rootsy “Happy Life”, his new single (available to stream from today) our Song of the Day, which was recorded live at Red Barn Studio.
“What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is yours. If you have a happy wife, you’ve got a happy life. Written with the spirit of John Prine’s imagery and play on cliches, Happy Life will relate to anyone attempting to make their significant other happy, failing miserably, and the consequences of when it’s unsuccessful. (This is not only specific to heterosexual couples, it can relate to anyone in a relationship).”
With a fresh thirst for learning fingerpicking techniques, Williams dove in depth to school himself in the history of American music, from Appalachian folk, country, Piedmont Blues, and deep-rooted Mississippi Delta blues from the likes of Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt and Elizabeth Cotten. His affinity for songwriting also grew and matured from an unfeigned love for storytellers like John Prine, Paul Simon and Jim Croce. Williams has his own brand of satire, simple honesty, and vivid imagery that translates into energetic live shows, harnessing rhythmic fingerpicking, soaring vocals, rolling harmonica, heart-thumping stompbox and charismatic whistling. All of which is backed with engaging descriptions and infectious personality between songs.
http://nicholasedwardwilliams.com/
Photo Credit: Cody Uhls