Kentucky-born and based in Cincinnati, Ohio, singer-songwriter Nicholas Johnson’s story is not a typical one, including moving to Milan, Italy and then getting kicked out of the country. Bringing it all back home on his fourth release, the seven-track album spanning twenty-six minutes, Shady Pines Vol. 2 (Ninja Jam Records), Johnson follows-up 2017’s Shady Pines Vol. 1 to complete the vision he originally had for the two-part project.
Shady Pines Vol. 1 (Ninja Jam Records) was the first half of the collaboration that found Johnson teaming up with acclaimed producer and engineer Patrick Himes (@
Ryan Adams ,Ethan Johns ,
Lilly Hiatt ) with the goal in mind to craft a recording that matched the intensity of his live shows. The result is a fiery brand of roots and rock that manages to sound both achingly familiar and fiercely original.
Building upon Vol. 1, Shady Pines Vol. 2 combines his Southern and Midwest roots into a sound that is best described as Southern roots meets Midwest rust-belt rock: Heartfelt, earnest, melodic, and true to the soil he was raised on. Paying homage to the likes of Tom Petty ,
Jeff Tweedy , and even
Bruce Springsteen, Johnson creates a rock record that has as much grit as it does polish.
