Nick Nace may have written and recorded his new album, The Harder Stuff, during the pandemic, but there’s really only one song on the album that recalls those early dark and quiet days and that’s the track we’re focusing on for its release today, “There’s No Music in Music City.” In the very early days of the pandemic, Nace decided to return to his native Canada to be close to family and, like many songwriters during that time of uncharted territory, found himself with nothing but time on his hands and an opportunity to focus on music like he never had before.
The album was recorded at The Smoakstack in Nashville in March of 2021 with producer Steven Cooper, who also played guitar and it was mixed by Nace’s brother, Justin. His 2019 album, Wrestling with the Memory was produced by Jon Latham, who plays guitar on this record. Todd Bolden is on bass, Erin Nelson on drums, Megan Palmer plays fiddle, John Henry Trinko on keyboard and accordion, Owen Bradley plays the organ and John Calvin Abney contributes accordion and bell.
Nace says he’s identified himself as a singer-songwriter and performer for most of his adult life, but when faced with not being able to perform, he took a look at who he is without those things. After a mini mid-life crisis, Nace said he discovered he was a pretty decent photographer and ended up taking all of the photos for the new album. He also used that time to take a hard look at the past and the future and what he wanted out of life. So, while this all occurred during the pandemic, according to Nace, “This record is really about relationships. It’s about how tricky and absurd it is to just be a human on a day-to-day basis and how the past couple of years have really brought us, and me especially, face to face with what I call, ‘the harder stuff.’ " The Harder Stuff is out July 29th.
Listen for “There’s No Music in Music City” on the Local Brew Hour this Sunday morning at 89.5 WMOT or via our new app! The Local Brew Hour airs Sundays at 8am, replays Mondays at 7pm and is available On Demand at wmot.org or via the WMOT radio app.
“There’s No Music in Music City”
