Mike Nash (of Southern Drawl Band) performs at BAC for solo show

Mike Nash is making a name for himself. He’s ready to get intimate with Carson City at his solo performance on Friday at the Brewery Arts Center.

“When it’s just me and a guitar, it’s about as pure as it can get,” the Nashville musician said.

Carson City is familiar with Nash and his touring band, Southern Drawl Band. The band played a show here in 2015, and comes back every year. Nash said Carson City was very receptive to the music since that first show, and he was surprised how well it caught on, being so far from their home in Nashville.

“Carson City is truly one of the groups I hold close to my heart,” he said. “It’s one of the first places we played so far from home and we were really surprised how well our music went over.”

Nash said the people of Carson City and the BAC are more than friends, and they’re like family. He laughed as he said he knows how to properly pronounce “Nevada” now.

“It’s a great scene with great folks. We feel like part of the family there.”

SOLO SHOW

Nash usually performs with the Southern Drawl Band, and this will be his first solo show in Carson City. He’s looking forward to sharing the stories behind the songs and letting people connect with them on a personal level.

The stripped down approach leaves him on stage with a barstool as a singer/storyteller.

“It’s giving people a deeper, more personal connection to the music,” he said. “It’s marrying the audience to me, as a person.”

Nash performs his solo shows without a setlist. He said he comes in and feels out the atmosphere of the room and chooses the songs as the night progresses. He likes to talk to the crowd on a personal level and bring intimacy to the show. It’s much different than the full band live, where they are raging and keeping the energy flowing. There is a little more pressure when Nash is performing by himself.

“If you can’t do it with just a vocal and guitar, then I don’t have anybody to blame if it sucks,” he said. “It’s all on me.”

He has gotten positive response from each of his shows. He said many people are walking away after the show saying how much they love the full band, but they loved the solo show just as much and they can’t decide what they like better.

NEW ALBUM

Nash released his solo album “Stay Thirsty” in May 2019. The album keeps his style, which he describes as workingman’s drinking music on the weekend, or the kind of music you enjoy on a sunny day on a boat on the lake or at the beach.

“The new music will be very familiar to people,” he said.

The album is a full band. In Nashville, he sent the music to the company and the studio band learned and recorded what he wrote. Then Nash comes in the studio and sings and plays his parts over what was already recorded.

TOUR SUCCESS

After the show in Carson on Friday, Nash heads to Ely on Saturday. He said he hopes he can build off what he has in Carson City and visit more often if he can book a tour that ties in more locations.

Nash stays active on Facebook and other social media, so his fans can find news or other interesting information about Nash and Southern Drawl Band.

He said he’s always writing new music as experiences come to him.

“You always have to be in front of the 8 ball, planning for the next move,” he said.

Friday’s event will be filmed for broadcast as part of the “Hit the Road with Kingswhistler” series on the National Grassroots Broadcasting Network. Nash will be happy to be part of the recording to share the evening with Carson City.