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#ARSC2026 in Memphis Was A Great One!

 I just returned from a week in Memphis and as one might expect, a wonderful time was had. I figure now is as good a time as any to share some pics and gratitudes.

My primary reason for going was the annual Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) conference–a unique gathering of a-v archivists, audio preservation engineers, meticulous record collectors, and some of the world’s best music researchers–and spent my week studying up on the latest copyright and fair use legalese, enjoying Robert Gordon’s thoughtful plenary on Memphis music, listening to Frank Bruno and Trey Brown’s Memphis small-label history, Craig Maki’s deep dive into Vic Gallon (w/ Starday connections!), David Evan’s and Kip Lornell’s insightful presentations on university-based record labels, Richard and Meaghan’s Archeophone collaboration with the Library of Congress, Patrick Feaster’s hilarious and fascinating research on the earliest phonograph, the history and scope of the National Recording Preservation Act with Matthew Barton, Patrick Midtlyng, David Seubert, and others, as well as papers and advice on moving archival collections, advocating for audio preservation to university admin, exploring audio survey and assessment tools, the roles of AI within some archives, and so much more. I also particularly enjoyed the collector’s roundtable on Friday night with Mark Atnip and Martin Fisher’s brilliant cylinder recording demonstration on Saturday afternoon. It was an honor to get to sing and play “Sea of Heartbreak” along with my pals Craig Maki and Frank Youngwerth as Martin cut a 2-minute wax cylinder of our performance. It was also a blast to hear and clap along to Filip Sir’s Czech-language, anti-Nazi protest version of “Deep In the Heart of Texas”--Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

As with every good academic conference, there was a lot of great discussion and camaraderie, a lot of communal meals, as well as the usual sharing of pet and recently-found record photos between presentations. There were far too many friends present to mention everyone by name, but it was truly great to see so many colleagues and pals in Memphis and to meet so many new folks as well. I loved chatting about record label obsessions with Jay Bruder, Cary Ginnell, Christian Stanfield, Lance and April of Dust-to-Digital, and so many others. I particularly enjoyed rooming with my old pal Patrick Feaster, former ARSC president, brilliant scholar, and all-around good dude. It was also a thrill to spend so much time exploring local barbeque haunts and talking music with my musical pals Craig Maki and Deke Dickerson. I will forever remember this conference as the one where Deke zipped away one night and came back the next morning to ask, ‘Hey, wanna play Grady Martin’s six-string bass?’ What?!?! The one that was played on the first ever fuzz record (Marty Robbins), and Johnny Horton’s best rockers, and just about every Patsy Cline recording? Of course, I do!! Many thanks again, Deke!

It was also the ARSC where I got to reconnect with my former high school bandmate, Matt Timberlake. What a joy to eat bbq and jam with the legend who invited me to join my first ever rock band–the Fuzzbuckets. Not only did we get to jam through several of the Fuzz’s greatest hits, I particularly enjoyed hearing him sing some Merle Haggard! I also appreciated him setting up a gig for me on Saturday night at The Cove with Big Barton, a 5-piece Memphis honky-tonk treasure! A grand time was had by all! There were several dogs in the audience. I was asked to play a 2nd solo set after my first one. I sold out of merch. And a kind couple at the bar even bought me a pizza.

And of course, Memphis was a great host city! I arrived early to check out Goner and Shangri-La–both awesome record stores (I even found an undocumented Starday custom 45 at Shangri-La)! I went to a Memphis Redbirds game and the first basement of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (AAA of the Florida Marlins) even pointed me out and threw me an inning-ending baseball! I randomly ran into some rockabilly lookin’ musicians outside the Sun Records studio and they invited me to their show at the HiTone Cafe that night–turns out, the Hotrod Hillbillies r-o-c-k and are coming to WI for Symco soon! Thanks again, Xavier and Angel! I toured the Sun Records studio again and appreciated seeing Dewey Phillips’ recreated studio, went to the Stax museum for the first time and dug Isaac Hayes’ Cadillac and the Hall of Records, went to Beale Street with Patrick and Craig and drank a milkshake, ate some incredible BBQ on Deke’s recommendations, and explored some of the historic sites including the Lorraine Motel (now home to the Civil Rights Museum), the Arcade (oldest diner in Memphis), and the site of Johnny Cash’s first gig to name a few. I also went to a garage sale and scored some great and local rock’n’roll records from Theo Dasbach!

Not quite sure how to top that for a conference, but Matthew Barton, ARSC and Memphis, y’all done well! #arscAnd many thanks to Memphis pals Matt Timberlake, Jeremy Shrader, Jesse Williams, Zac Ives, Christian Stanfield, Rockey the Rockin’ Redbird, and everyone else for the warm welcome and southern hospitality!

Upcoming Solo Set at The Cove w/ Big Barton in Memphis, TN Saturday 5/16

Howdy Memphis Friends--I'm excited to share that I'll be doing a rare solo set at The Cove's Honky-Tonk Night along with Big Barton next Saturday, 5/16. 7:30 showtime. It's where rock and roll began!

Specifically, Memphis is where my friend Matt Timberlake now lives and he's the dude who first taught me about how to rock and roll. While we were in high school, Matt invited me to join his band, The Fuzzbuckets. It was my first time in a band and we had some pretty memorable gigs. We even won a HS Battle of the Bands. Matt introduced me to the Flaming Lips. And to Man Or Astro-Man? And to the New York Dolls. He also wrote some killer originals, rocked a sweet Gibson Les Paul, and even though I was just playing trumpet and keys and occasionally shouting along, it forever changed my life goals and trajectory.

Next Saturday he'll join me and we'll sing some Merle Haggard tunes for you! It will be epic. Hope to see y'all there!

Rock'n'Roll Banjo on Back to the Country (WORT 89.9FM) on 5/5

There are lots of different things you can do with a banjo. You could frail or clawhammer a banjo. You could put some picks on your fingers and pluck it in the ol’ three-fingered Scruggs-style. You could flatpick some big band and dixieland chords on it. You could strum it in a folk circle. You could write a dissertation about jazz banjo players or even use one as firewood. You could also play Elvis Presley songs on one for your friends’ wedding in the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, VA (though I’m still ashamed that NOT ONE PERSON told me that I wasn’t supposed to wear all-white to a wedding! Live and learn, I suppose.).

But if I’m being honest, my favorite use for the banjo is that flatpicking banjo twang heard on early '50s honky-tonk and rockabilly music. Before rock and roll was a fully-defined thing separate from country music, lots of western swing, honky-tonk, and rockin-adjacent bands featured the banjo. It’s a great compliment to thumb-picked electric guitar and even steel guitar. A few years later, lots of bluegrass groups began covering rock’n’roll songs–I’m thinking here of Jim & Jesse, the Stanley Brothers, Jim Eanes, Flatt & Scruggs, and many more, and that's always fun to hear.

And in the 1950s and early ‘60s, flatpickers like Joe Maphis, Arthur ‘Guitar Boogie’ Smith, Grandpa Jones, Grady Martin, Cousin Arnold, Frank Evans, Ronnie Dawson, and so many more were setting their five banjo strings ablaze with a pick. In recent years, the flatpicking rockabilly banjo torch has been passed on to players like Brian Setzer, Mitch Polzak , and Carter Logan to name a few. It’s a beautiful thing and worth celebrating. So that’s what we’ll do tomorrow (5/5) on Back to the Country. Rock’n’Roll Banjo! Tune in via 89.9FM in southern Wisconsin or stream via wortfm.org from 9am-noon (cst).

Air Travel on Back to the Country 4/8/26 9am-noon (CST) via WORT-FM 89.9

Howdy Friends. This Wednesday morning I will again be hosting Back to the Country on WORT FM and this week's theme is Air Travel. Recent headlines have been dominated by unpaid TSA agents, overworked traffic controllers, planes being shot down, and long lines at the airport, so I decided to go back and listen to air travel representation in classic country music over the last 100 years to determine how the times have changed or stayed the same.

Of course, classic country music is known for its thousands of travel songs about trucks, trains, and the endless black ribbon, but there are a surprising number of great songs about air travel as well--high speed jets, tragic plane crashes, lucky cross-Atlantic flights, lonely airports, broken guitars, and numerous other airline-specific complaints. There were also several successful classic country musicians licensed as pilots (including Rex Trailer, the Calhoun Twins, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Hughes, Jimmy Kish, and more) and we'll hear from them as well. As usual, we'll be mostly looking at tunes from the 1920s-70s, but I'll throw in a few recent faves as well. The problem now is just halving the 100+ air travel tunes I've already picked out.

Get your seatbelts securely fastened, your belongings stowed, and your tray tables and seats in full upright position! Show airs live on Wednesday 4/8 from 9am-noon (CST) and heard via 89.9FM in southern WI or streaming via wortfm.org.

Nate Gibson & the Stardazers and Marty Stuart & his Fabulous Superlatives at the Stoughton Opera House 4/11/26

As many friends know, I've been taking a short break from performing to focus on two separate books projects... BUT, I'm excited to share that Nate Gibson & the Stardazers will once again be opening the Ghost Light Lounge at the Stoughton Opera House for BOTH of the sold-out Marty Stuart shows next Saturday (4/11).

 
Marty's shows with the Fabulous Superlatives are the very best in the world and I sure hope y'all already have your tickets to either the 3pm or 7:30pm show! Our opening set times are 1:25-2:40 and then we'll do it all again from 5:55-7:10. There will be country. There will be rock. And there will be a whole lot of the in-between! There might even be a bunch of baseball songs. Hope to see y'all there! 

https://stoughtonoperahouse.showare.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=788

Photo: Andrew Harrison, myself, Chris Scruggs, and Kenny Vaughan from our 2024 Stoughton Opera House date

Minneapolis Country Music on Back to the Country 2/10/26

The city of Minneapolis has dominated recent news cycles and was just nominated last week for a 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for its solidarity and collective nonviolent resistance to the masked and fascist ICE surges. I'm sure most of you watched as thousands of MN residents stood in the cold singing to ICE agents outside their hotels, that it's OK to change their minds. It was beautiful!

As such, I thought this week's episode of Back to the Country might be a good time to look at the history of Minneapolis country music. From the early days of the Sunset Valley Barn Dance in the 1940s through the Kay Bank/Soma era of the '60s, on through the Prairie Home Companion pickers and singers of the '70s and even Prince's country music exploits as Joey CoCo in the '80s, there have been tons of amazing country musicians from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. I'll certainly share some of my favorite records by my friends in the Twin Cities and thanks to the massive 78 collection of Upper Midwestern recordings at Mills Music Library, I'll also share a whole bunch of rare MLPS gems from '40s and early '50s.

Minneapolis has also been through some particularly tough times in recent years, so I'll also spend some time looking at the country music responses to the tragic murder of George Floyd, as well as the most recent country music songs protesting ICE from Zach Bryan, Jesse Welles, the Boss, and more. It's an awful lot to fit into just three hours, but I'll do my best!

Tune in tomorrow (2/11) via 89.9fm from 9am-noon (CST) or streaming at wortfm.org or via the WORT app.

R.I.P. Steel Guitar Extraordinaire Pete Finney

Really bummed to see my feed flooded with Pete Finney tributes today. Pete was a superb steel guitarist, a really smart historian, super nice guy, and seems to have been loved by just about everyone in Nashville. He and his wife Carol deserve all the love, so I'll add to the tributes.

I met Pete back in 2016 at the International Country Music Conference when he was being awarded the Chet Flippo Award for the excellent book and Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit he co-curated on Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and the Nashville Cats. Before he accepted his award, he came early and listened to several other presentations that day, including my talk on the country music recordings of Hoagy Carmichael. He approached me after my talk, said he was a big Hoagy fan, wanted to hear more, and invited me to the Country Music Hall of Fame later that evening to hear him play, see his exhibit, and talk more country music. I gladly accepted the invitation.

It was only later that night, during his intro at the Hall of Fame gig that I learned he had toured for many years with CMHOFers like Patty Loveless, Vince Gill, Reba, the Judds, as well as the Chicks and spent many years with the Monkees, too. Later I started to see his name on all sorts of recordings by Bobby Bare, Justin Townes Earle, Brennen Leigh, Clem Snide, Robbie Fulks, and more, and he seemed to always be playing with Chris Scruggs and the Stone Fox Five when I was in Nashville. That guy was in demand and everywhere!

At some point he asked me who my favorite pedal steel player was and I said 'Pete Drake.' He got excited and said PD was one of his favorites, too. I told him I was soon to be recording with Betty Amos w/ Judy and Jean in Nashville and asked if he'd be willing to play steel on the session. He said, 'Sure!' And because we both loved Pete Drake, I asked if he'd be willing to cover Pete Drake's Starday recording of "The Spook" with me? Again, 'Absolutely!' That tune ended up being the bonus track on the Bear Family Records release of Nate Gibson & the Stars of Starday and it's one of my faves. Pete nailed the Pete Sound!

It's sad to see this picture today, taken less than a decade ago, and know that since that session we've lost Betty, Judy, Jean, Dave Roe, and Pete. But I'm mighty grateful our paths crossed and particularly for the time, kindness, and sharing of talents. RIP Pete.

Photo by Drew Carroll. L-R: Chris Scruggs, Pete Finney, Cousin Kenny Vaughan, Dave Roe, Betty Amos, Judy Lee, Jean Amos, Nate Gibson, Timon Kaple

Hoo Hoo Hoo... Hoosiers?!

Back when I attended Indiana University for grad school, football season tickets were $30. If you wanted to buy any basketball tickets, you also had to buy the football season ticket package just to get them. I didn't buy either because the baseball tickets were free and we had Kyle Schwarber. 

But this year, the football team has been doing really well. Like, really good. And their rise from worst football program in college history to unexpected dominance just happens to coincide with reports of teachers being removed from IU classrooms for teaching about historical racism, with IU faculty being beaten and dragged off Dunn Meadow for protecting students and their right to free speech against armed national guards, with the moving and minimizing of the Archives of Traditional Music, and the elimination, merger, or suspension of approximately 250 undergraduate degrees in 2025-26 (including my own Folklore & Ethnomusicology program). 

It's extremely difficult to cheer for the horrific MAGA takeover of a once great educational institution, but IU does throw the ball really well and Fernando Mendoza seems like a good guy. I'll root for their football team in the Championship game tonight, but I'm much more interested in rooting for the incredible faculty and staff still at IU and still fighting for education and academic integrity every day. It's an uphill battle and I appreciate all of you! 

Now it's time to turn off my country music Ode to the Hoosiers LP (recorded at the Starday Sound Studio in Nashville just after the basketball team won the national championship in 1981) and turn on the game. Hoo Hoo Hoo... Hoosiers?!

Country Music in Español on Back to the Country 1/14/26

Howdy Friends, I’ll be back on the WORT FM tomorrow morning from 9-noon (CST) hosting Back to the Country and the theme this week is Country Music in Español. The NFL Super Bowl is just around the corner and back in October, half-time performer (and most streamed artist of 2025) Bad Bunny went on SNL and told everyone that we had just a few months to learn Spanish. Well, in case you haven’t been keeping up with your lessons, this show is for you!

We’ll start with traditional country music songs mostly sung in English but with some Spanish words here and there. Then we’ll move on to country songs with full verses sung in both English and Spanish. From there, we’ll hear songs fully sung in Spanish, but we’ll begin with translations of songs that were first hits in English so that you grab onto the narrative quickly.

Along the way we’ll pay tribute to three of my favorite Spanish-singing country superstars who we lost in 2025: Johnny Rodriguez, Flaco Jiménez, and just last month, Raul Malo of the Mavericks (The Mavericks in Español 2xLP is so, so good!). I’ll also play some of my favorite records by Rudy Tutti Grayzell, Freddy Fender, Linda Ronstadt, Big Sandy, Tish Hinojosa, the Austin Lounge Lizards, Gerardo Meza and the Mezcal Brothers, Southern Culture on the Skids, and Cris Plata to name a few. We’ll dip into some of the absolute gems from UCLA’s massive Frontera Collection. And I’ll for sure play for you my 1963 Johnny Cash Cantado en Español EP, released only in Spain with him singing two songs in Spanish. It’ll be lots of fun and, with any luck, when it’s all over, tú puedes hablar y entender Español! ¡Escucha wortfm.org o 89.9FM en Wisconsin!

Jewish Country Music on Back to the Country 12/10/25

Howdy Friends. Hanukkah begins this weekend and its got me thinking about all of the great Jewish country music out there in the world. Sure, there's the well-known Jewish country stars like Kinky Friedman, Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel), Shel Silverstein, and Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson & Friends). There's lots of great folk-country Jewish artists like Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and Leonard Cohen as well as bluegrass legends like Bela Fleck, Noam Pikelny, and David Grisman (to name just a few). And I can't leave out former bandmates Bobbie Malone and Dave Aaronoff (with a great new Hens release), or local star Jerry Wicentowski (Bluegrass Hoppers). Infamous tailor to the stars, Nudie Cohn, even made a country record and heck, it was Steve Goodman who wrote the perfect country music song!

I know it's just barely scratching the surface, but I've tracked down my favorite three hours worth of Jewish country music from my own collection and I've also found some rare gems to play from the Mayrent Collection of Yiddish Recordings. It's the largest collection of Yiddish language recordings (over 9,000+ 78s), with some incredible country-related records within, and it lives right next door to my office in Mills Music Library! I just might even have a special guest on during the middle of the show...

Hope you can tune in to Back to the Country tomorrow morning (12/10) from 9am to noon (cst) via 89.9FM in southern Wisconsin or streaming via wortfm.org and here's to a joyful festival of lights!

RCA Victor Chairs and a new Back to the Country show 11/12

For many years I've been wanting to find one of these rad 1940s/50s RCA Victor dealer chairs, but they always seem to be either WAY out of my price range or a million miles away. Never in my wildest dreams would I expect to find not just one, but TWO of them less than two miles from our home in the local antique mall (shout out to Atomic Antiques). Even more astonishing, because there was only one arm rest, they were sold for mere pennies on the dollar. I owe a gazillion thanks to my friend Dave Lass for texting me a heads up and then meeting me the next morning before they opened to make sure nobody else found them before us. Thank you, thank you, Dave!!

The next step is to find a way to use the one existing armrest as a template to make the others. I'm thinking wood. Does anybody have any suggestions or experience making RCA Victor chair armrests?

Well, the next step is actually to host Back to the Country on WORT FM tomorrow morning (11/12) from 9am-noon cst (streaming via wortfm.org). I'll be spinning some amazing recent acquisition 45s all morning, several of which were produced by RCA Victor around the same time as these chairs!

A Halloween Hayride Tomorrow (10/29) on WORT

Happy Early Halloween, y'all! Tomorrow is a bonus 5th Wednesday of the month which means I'll again be hosting Back to the Country on WORT FM from 9am-noon (cst). I've got a big ol' stack of my favorite spooky country classics at the ready for a swingin' Halloween Hayride! Salty Holmes, Eddie Noack, Jesse Welles, Hank Levine, and whatever else three hours will allow! Streaming worldwide via wortfm.org and via the WORT app.

Photo: Throwback to a couple decades ago when Nate Gibson & the Gashouse Gang and Reverend Horton Heat rocked a Halloween Hootenanny at the Middle East in Boston. With thanks to Emily Gabrian for the snap!

Congrats to the Milwaukee Brewers: Fear the Beer Project Goals and Outcomes 2025

Well, the Milwaukee Brewers season ended this weekend in the same way it started--a devastating series sweep at the hands of a non-salary capped large-market juggernaut. But in between those harsh bookends, the Brewers had a remarkable and magical year. They had the best overall record in baseball, set a franchise record for most wins, set a franchise record 14-game winning streak (Yay, free George Webb hamburgers for Milwaukee!), and brought a lot of joy to a lot of people in some pretty dark times. They beat the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS and they also inspired me to write an entire album of original songs about them.

Because Fear the Beer was intended to be a soundtrack to this year's Brewers' playoff run and because this weekend marks almost exactly two months from when I wrote my first Brewers song (8/15), I thought I'd take a quick moment to reflect on the project's goals and share some of the outcomes.

It took roughly four weeks to write eleven songs, practice them, and to record guitars and upright bass for all twelve tunes while also keeping up with my full-time job. It was a joy making music with friends (many thanks again to Randall Finley, Andrew Harrison, Dmitry Karev, and Art Stevenson!) and also to record backing vocals with my family (thanks again Adam, Ethan, Lilly, and Whitney!). And none of this would have been possible without my super-talented nephew Ethan Gibson encouraging me and putting in so much time recording my vocals, playing guitar, editing tracks, as well as mixing and mastering the entire thing. It was a real joy working with Ethan on this project!

It then took a week to design the artwork (many thanks to Rachel and Mike Lee for the assists!), getting my vision to match the printer's layout (many thanks to Travis "Daddy-O" Quam!), press the CDs (many thanks to Sooper Dooper!), register copyrights, get the album uploaded to Bandcamp, and to set up streaming and digital distribution. I also partnered with Wisconsin Humane Society during this week and pledged to donate all (if there were any) of the profits to them in memory of Hank the Dog.

During that week I also began seeking out press and I'm so grateful to Richelle Wilson and Rob Ferrett at Wisconsin Public Radio, Ashley Rodriguez at The Cap Times, Christopher Hawbaker at Channel 3 News, Jared Blohm at Milwaukee Record, Bob Koch at Isthmus, and Andy Moore of WORT's 8 O'Clock Buzz for taking an interest in the story and spreading the word. Thank you, all! As of yesterday (10/17) WPR's video of me singing "Fear the Beer" has 40,000+ views (on Facebook and Instagram). Chris's news segments aired on multiple days, The Cap Times gave it a full page, and in just two weeks, the album accrued 4,000+ streams via Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube. The album has also been in regular rotation on WI radio stations including WORT [many thanks to Art, Bobbie and Bill C. Malone, and Brian Oh Brien!], WXPR [thanks, Betty Jo!], and WVMO [thanks, Eric!]. 

Nearly all physical and digital sales were done via Bandcamp, which has worked out amazingly, and I also listed them on eBay and Discogs for discoverability. The CD was also sold in Rushmor Records in Milwaukee and both B-Side Records and MadCity Music in Madison bought copies, too. My friend Bobby Batyko even took CDs to several local jams and sold a bunch for me (many thanks again, Bob!). The initial print is now very near sold out!

When I started writing this country music love letter to the Brewers, I really had no idea if anyone would care or take an interest. I didn't do it to make money, but to my surprise, after two weeks I had recouped all of my expenses. In the following week and during the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, we sold another $400+ in CDs and digital copies--all going directly to the Wisconsin Humane Society to help animals in need and their WI families. Please adopt, don't shop!

These past two months I really tried to focus on the positive things around me. I wrote a bunch of original music. I got to do a music project with my nephew and several friends. I went to some amazing baseball games (including two of the incredible Brewers-Cubs NLDS victories!!). And we raised several hundred dollars for the WI Humane Society in the process. A sincere THANK YOU to everyone who purchased the album and supported the overall mission!! It's easily the most fun I've had watching baseball in the last couple decades and it's been a healthy distraction from the daily onslaught of horrors brought about by this federal administration. 

Now that the Brewers 2025 Playoffs run is over, you may be wondering, "what's next for Fear the Beer?" Well, I don't really know that answer, but there is actually a group of music marketing majors at Emerson College currently discussing that very question. I'll be sure to keep y'all in the loop! In the meantime, many thanks again to the Milwaukee Brewers for an absolutely magical season and for the flurry of creative inspiration! Go Brewers!

NLDS Game 5 Brewers v Cubs is Saturday Night

Oh man, last night's NLDS Game 4 was a stinger. But the good news--that just means more baseball for the rest of us! The big NLDS-deciding Game 5 of the Milwaukee Brewers v Chicago Cubs series is tomorrow night and if ever the Brewers needed a rallying cry in catchy song form, now is that time!

Fortunately, I've already written one--Fear the Beer! Actually, it's an entire album about the Brewers, it can still serve as your soundtrack to this year's exciting playoff run, and CDs and digital downloads are available via Bandcamp: https://nategibson.bandcamp.com/album/fear-the-beer-a-musical-salute-to-the-milwaukee-brewers

Even more exciting, as of this Tuesday evening, the recording and manufacturing expenses for the Fear the Beer project have been covered (in less than two weeks!) and all sales from this week forward will be donated to the Wisconsin Humane Society in memory of the Brewers unofficial mascot, Hank the Ballpark Pup. Go Hank! Go Animals! And Go Brewers!!

Foot-Notes Playing the Barn Dance at the Old Barn on Capitol View 10/10

Tomorrow night (10/10) I get to play upright bass with Foot-Notes for the Barn Dance at the Old Barn on Capitol View. It's an amazing venue, we're expected to have beautiful weather, and there'll be a barn full dancers, musicians, artists, and folklorists (a group more broadly defined as, friends). I cherish these rare opportunities to play bass with Foot-Notes from Decorah, IA and I equally cherish the opportunity to polka, waltz, schottische, and two-step to the music of Madison's ScandiAm Jam.

Hope you can join us from 6:30-8:30! Free to all. No Brewers game. Punch and pie.

Fall Pledge Drive on Back to the Country 10/8

Howdy Friends, I'm excited to be hosting Back to the Country again tomorrow morning from 9am-noon (cst) on WORT FM. The theme this week is music that I think you will like and that will make you want to contribute to our Fall Pledge Drive. It's kind of a heady theme, but I played some of the tracks I plan to play for our puppy Gidget this morning and she was totally blown away.

I'm mighty proud to be part of a volunteer-driven, community-sponsored radio operation like WORT FM and I think now more than ever it's important to have alternatives to commercial radio and mainstream news. WORT's been around for 50 years thanks to the support of our listeners, so here's to 50 more years of community building through music and the arts! You can tune in via 89.9fm in southern Wisconsin, via wortfm.org, or streaming via the WORT app.

Milwaukee Record features Fear the Beer and Rushmor Records in Bay View now carries the CD

Oh my! On my way to the first ever Brewers-Cubs MLB Playoffs game last Saturday, I got a message alerting me that Jared Blohm had just published an article and album review of my Fear the Beer album for Milwaukee Record. I eagerly pulled over to read the piece and it is incredibly thoughtful and generous. Jared is a big fan of the Brewers, of sports-themed records, of all things Wisconsin music, and particularly of classic country music--so he is basically the exact person for whom the album was made. I so appreciate him taking the time to talk with me about it and for his enthusiasm for the project. Thank you, Jared! Folks can check it out here:

https://milwaukeerecord.com/music/nate-gibsons-fear-the-beer-gives-the-brewers-a-country-tinged-playoff-soundtrack/

After the game--and oh my, what a game it was!!!!!!!--I trucked over to Bay View to visit Dan at Rushmor Records--Milwaukee's longest-running record shop. I asked if he would like to see the new album and he eagerly snapped up 10 copies for the store! 

Folks can still order physical and digital copies of the album through Bandcamp (https://nategibson.bandcamp.com/album/fear-the-beer-a-musical-salute-to-the-milwaukee-brewers), but if one would like to have and hold it TODAY, Rushmor is the only record store in the Milwaukee area where you can pick up a physical copy. It's a great way to support local music, support local music stores, and support the WI Humane Society! 

And tonight, it's time for Game 2 of the NLDS. Let's hope for more of that Game 1 Magic! Go Brewers and Fear the Beer!!

Fear the Beer in The Cap Times on this Bandcamp Friday

At long last, today is Bandcamp Friday--a rare 24-hour occasion when Bandcamp waives all its fees and all sales go directly to the artists. If you haven't yet ordered your own copy of Fear the Beer, today is a great day to do so. https://nategibson.bandcamp.com/album/fear-the-beer-a-musical-salute-to-the-milwaukee-brewers

And in case you need a little extra encouragement, Ashley Rodriguez just wrote a really nice story about the album's inspiration, production, and release for The Cap Times here: https://captimes.com/entertainment/arts/new-brewers-album-fear-the-beer-blends-country-music-and-baseball/article_035b5232-1714-4c45-ae32-aa2b542f87f6.html

It's a great article with all sorts of behind-the-scenes photos of the sessions, an outtake of the album cover photo by Rachel, and even a surprise appearance of Gidget the Dog hiding inside Andrew the Guitar Player's guitar case. Many, many thanks again for your time and the story, Ashley!

The record was also featured in WPR's Wisconsin Today newsletter with a link to my in-studio performance of the title track, "Fear the Beer." Much love and gratitude, WPR!

And since you're likely already heading over to Bandcamp to check out Taylor Swift's new "The Life of a Showgirl," why not give "Fear the Beer" a spin while you're there?!

Fear the Beer is on Wisconsin Public Radio

Last week, WPR producer Richelle Wilson kindly invited me to talk about Fear the Beer - A Musical Salute to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wisconsin Today. The segment aired Monday (9/29) and she has since written up a blog post w/ photos to go with it. You can check out the blog w/ audio link here:

https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-country-musician-fear-the-beer-milwaukee-brewers

Many thanks again to Richelle, Rob Ferrett, and the Wisconsin Public Radio team for inviting me to sing and talk about the record! The 2025 MLB Playoffs are officially underway and the soundtrack is now streaming on all major platforms (and still available via Bandcamp)!

https://nategibson.bandcamp.com/album/fear-the-beer-a-musical-salute-to-the-milwaukee-brewers