James Nash (musician)

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James Nash
Jamesnash-fls.jpg
Background information
Birth nameJames Nash
Born (1973-06-14) June 14, 1973 (age 50)
Durham, NC, U.S.
Origin San Francisco Bay Area
Genres Americana, rock, bluegrass
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, mandolin, singing
Years active1992–present
Labels Compass
Website www.jamesnash.com

James Nash (born June 14, 1973) is an American guitarist and singer best known for his work with the band the Waybacks.

Contents

Career

Nash has performed with self-described "acoustic mayhem" [1] quartet the Waybacks since 1999, [2] performing at venues such as the Kennedy Center, [3] Ryman Auditorium, [4] Old Town School of Music, [5] the Warfield, [6] the Fillmore, [7] and the Bumbershoot [8] and Wakarusa [9] festivals. He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Center, [10] with the Chattanooga Symphony, [11] and with artists such as Bob Weir, [12] Joan Osborne, [13] Sam Bush, [14] Rodney Crowell, [15] and Jens Kruger. [16] In 2017, Nash was named one of the 50 best acoustic guitarists of all time by Guitar Player . [17]

He is an Artist Ambassador for the Santa Cruz Guitar Company. [18]

Style

Nash blends bluegrass, swing, country, jazz, and experimental rock influences, [19] and is known for adapting solid body electric guitar techniques to the traditional steel-string acoustic guitar. [20] [21] In 2011, he released an instructional DVD Making the Acoustic Guitar Rock! on Homespun. [22] In 2017, Nash was chosen alongside Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt, and Michael Hedges as "50 transcendent superheroes of wood, steel, and nylon" by Guitar Player magazine. [17]

Hillside Album Hour

In 2008, Nash began producing and directing the "Hillside Album Hour" at Merlefest in North Carolina. [23] Featured performers have included Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, [24] Susan Tedeschi, [25] and Joan Osborne. [26] In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine dubbed the event "one of the most anticipated performances of the festival," and described the band's adaptation of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as "an inventive tribute studded with sounds that spanned the psychedelic era". [14] As of 2019, the event has taken place for 12 consecutive years.

Discography

Nash’s recording credits include acoustic and electric guitar, bottleneck guitar, mandolin, bass, vocals, songwriter, arranger, engineer, and producer. [27] [28]

With The Waybacks

As producer

With others

Music technology

Nash has a degree in computer science from Stanford University. [23] In 2010, Nash was musical curator for TEDxAlcatraz in San Francisco, [29] including productions with the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir and cellist Peter Gregson. [30] His TEDx talk “Russell County Gorge” was featured in the 2011 TEDx Global Music Project. [31] In 2012, Nash co-founded the music streaming app Spacebar, which was featured at the 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt in New York. [32] Nash and Spacebar hold multiple US Patents for asynchronous audio and video streaming. [33] [34] Nash is a regular gear review contributor to Guitar Player magazine. [35]

Personal life

Nash is a frequent Little League Baseball and basketball coach. [23] In 2015 he received a Willie Mac Award from the San Francisco Giants for leadership in youth coaching. [36] Nash and his partner Miranda have two sons. [23]

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References

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