Texas genre-bending rocker Israel Nash rolls into town Friday, July 12, in support of his 2018 album, "Lifted," which has been described as "a tonic for those needing to put aside the mess of the daily grind."
And who doesn't need that tonic after the stress of a long workweek?
Nash will take the stage at Nightfall for an 8 p.m. show in Miller Park, 928 Market St. Opening the free concert will be local singer Sharla June.
Nash (whose full name is Israel Nash Gripka) is originally from the Ozarks of Missouri. He's made his home in Dripping Springs, Texas, for the greater part of a decade. There on his ranch with sweeping views of the Texas Hill Country, the mountain man built his own studio in a Quonset hut that he dubbed Plum Creek Sound.
The studio became his sanctuary, a creative outlet that ultimately became the inspiration behind "Lifted." The process of writing, recording and producing "Lifted" allowed Nash to leave his own downhearted feelings about the political landscape. Nash wrote and recorded "Lifted" with the intention of achieving a listening experience that would lift those who heard his music with feelings of peace, love and happiness.
Wanting to use Plum Creek Sound to its fullest, Nash incorporated organic sounds from his Texas ranch into the recordings to represent Hill Country life: the drum of water in rain barrels, water rushing against limestone, frogs and crickets in their habitats, even a curious rattlesnake.
"It's all about finding, searching for little sparks of inspiration. It may be a sound, a groove, a color, or even an object. Old things are inspiring. It doesn't matter if you're making a record or living your life, find these inspirations and watch them change both you and your world," Nash says.
"It was a simple message to myself, to not get stuck in thinking and in the past. It's too easy for us to worry about pretty much everything. I had been down and low for a bit and really had to sing and write those feelings away, give them to the moment and find a better self in the end."