The last solo album from Nathaniel Rateliff was Falling Faster Than You Can Run which saw it’s UK release in January 2014 when he was also the Artist of the Month on Folk Radio. In the opening of his album review, Simon Holland declares “At his recent London shows at The Shacklewell Arms and The Islington, Nathaniel Rateliff proved that all he needs is a single acoustic guitar and a stand and deliver attitude to hold an audience in rapt attention.”
It’s no surprise therefore that after releases with his band the Night Sweats that anticipation on his forthcoming solo album should be riding high as Nathaniel Rateliff returns to his early acoustic days with the And It’s Still Alright tour (details below). The show will feature many facets of Rateliff’s musicianship—ranging from stripped-back moments with just his voice and an acoustic guitar to the accompaniment of a full band. The setlist will feature songs from his entire catalogue as well as the new album, which will be released via Stax Records early next year.
The accompanying press mentions his early years when growing up in rural Missouri, he got his early music education from his family, who performed in the church band in which Rateliff played drums, and his father’s record collection. In our 2014 interview, Rateliff proved to be very honest and open in his answers in which he told us he got his first drumkit when he was just seven years old as well as touching on his rural Missouri upbringing. You can read the full interview here from which the extract below is taken.
“I never like to make a big deal out of it because a lot of people have a had it a lot harder than I did, but we were a pretty poor family. We hunted a lot, ate squirrel if needs be and venison. I know that’s a big treat over here, but we used to shoot about four deer a year and so I ate it all of the time. We also kept a pretty big garden, canned, pickled and made preserves.
“We didn’t have a phone most of the time and our TV could only pick up one channel,” which again you might think not a problem. But there were also times when living in a town of about 25,000 people that they couldn’t afford to buy fuel for the heating, so the entire family had to sleep on the kitchen floor around the stove. Still, it wasn’t all like that and returning to the remoter, country life he tells me, “The heating there was all wood-fired and it was my job to split the logs. It’s amazing how many logs you need to see you through a winter. My wife and I joke about this stuff, we know that whatever else happens, we could always go back to basics and still live a good life.”
Despite the inconveniences and deprivations, you get the impression that Nathaniel had a happy childhood, even if he had to get a job at a very early age for the pocket money. But when only just into his teens tragedy struck and his father was killed. He tells me, “He died in a car accident on the way to church. Yeah, the irony of it. But we were in the church band and my mom, my sister and me were getting ready to play and were waiting for my dad to come, but he was late. Anyway, they had to stop the service because they got a call from the hospital with the news. When we got there we were told that he’s passed away.” If there’s a moment of reflection, it’s fleeting and Nathaniel quickly returns to a more upbeat tone, fondly remembering working on stuff like roofing the house with his dad, even if he never quite hit the required mark of craftsmanship.
It was a life-changing event none the less, but again we are quickly onto a more positive line as his father’s passing spurred him on. “I pretty much quit school and had to get a job,” he explains, but it was also then that his interest in music started to really take flight. He recalls, “I had an electric guitar, but I didn’t really know how to play it. After my dad passed away, for some reason I suddenly started to get really interested in my mom’s acoustic. She showed me a couple of chords and then my friend Matt showed me a couple more and I just started strumming my ass off. I’d go into my room and play and sing and I started writing songs straight away. Admittedly they weren’t very good and some of them were like, joking songs about having a pizza party and stuff like that, but it all came out pretty naturally and happened pretty quick.
“Now writing songs, or writing good songs at least, seems to take forever.”
With support from Gregory Alan Isakov on a number of dates, this promises to be an unforgettable tour.
Nathaniel Rateliff UK and EU dates
Tickets are on sale at 9am on Monday 16th December HERE
With Very Special Guest: Gregory Alan Isakov *
April 2020
Wed 22 – Utrecht, Tivolivredenburg Grote Zaal*
Thur 23 – Berlin, Admiralspalast*
Fri 24t – Gent, Capitole*
Sat 26 – Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall*
Mon 27 – Manchester, Bridgewater Hall*
Tue 28 – Birmingham, Symphony Hall*
Wed 29 – London, Royal Albert Hall*
May 2020
Fri 1 – Dublin, Olympia*
Sat 2 – Cork, Opera House*
Mon 4 – Bath, Forum
Tue 5 – Paris, Alhambra
https://www.nathanielrateliff.com/
Photo Credit: Rett Rogers