The Dusty Road to Beulah: The Story of Drew Nelson

“People ask me where I’m from and I say my wife and my cat live in a little house in Michigan.  I just live in my car.”  Drew Nelson, a Grand Rapids, Michigan resident is touring.  His next stop:  The Listening Room on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7:30 p.m. 

Singer/songwriter Drew Nelson started his musical career at age 11 after what he calls “soaking in” the local music that his family played on their front porch in a small farm town in northwest Michigan. 

“I started really seriously playing around age 16,” he said, “when all of the sudden you discover rock and roll and girls and everything changes.  Now it’s funny because the older I get, the more I’m drawn to the older music that I grew up with.  When you’re younger you don’t really appreciate that kind of stuff.”

After being on the road full time for twelve years (with small construction and teaching jobs in between) Drew has seen it all. 

“A couple years ago I did a few shows with Melissa Etheridge and there were like 20,000 people but I didn’t like it.  It was really too big for what I do.  I’m just a guy with a guitar and I prefer the smaller, more intimate venues where I can tell my stories.”

Where does he draw his inspiration for such stories?

“I think I’m influenced more by poets and authors than musicians.  Greg Brown is a big influence on me.  Pablo Neruda, Annie Crew, Jim Harrison, Flannery O’Connor, Mary Oliver, those guys.  That’s really where I draw more [inspiration].  I try not to listen to a whole lot of stuff because it’s just inevitable that you soak up all those other melodies.  There are only twelve notes on a scale.  I’ll write a new song and I’ll play it for my wife and she’ll say ‘Yeah that’s Jack Johnson.’ I don’t want to plagiarize.”

His newest album, Dusty Road to Beulah has a story to it too.  “I remember watching my aunt Molly sing and falling madly in love with her.  She was so pretty and she could sing like an angel.  A couple of years ago she passed away because of cancer, so this song is a testament to her.  Beulah is an Old Testament term it means paradise.  It’s funny because in almost every state there is a Beulah.  It’s kinda whatever you want.  This life that we’re in is a dusty road to Beulah.” 

All of Drew Nelson’s songs are stories told through singing and acoustic guitar.  Stories of achievement, stories of hard times, stories of working hard, and each one seems to have a tie to his life, either currently or before. 

“My idea is that we are so defined by our geography,” he said, “it plays such a central character in what we do and who we are and how we walk on this planet.  I try to write about and view the whole world through the lens of where I come from and what I know.” 

As far as the future of Drew Nelson? 

“I plan on making another record and traveling around and singing.  My goal has always been to be able to write music that can hopefully affect people and touch people.  When I was really young my plan was to become this big giant rock star and we see how well that worked out.” 

The kind nature and personality of Drew Nelson comes out in his songs and writing style.  The Listening Room is located at 111 Broadway in North Fargo and is the perfect setting for Drew, small and intimate with just enough room for him to tell his stories.

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INFO:
Who: Drew Nelson
When: Fri, Oct 16, 7:30pm
Where: The Listening Room (Spirit Room)
How much: $11, All ages