Country Music Quaran-Ten with Shane Nicholson

The country music community of Australia proudly claims Shane Nicholson as one of our elite alumni, but an artist like Shane transcends genre. His career began when he was a teenager living in Brisbane, recording songs with his band Pretty Violet Stain exploring everything from Rock to Bluegrass, and Country to Folk. This journey has given us a catalogue of work that remains as special as the first time we heard it.  

You’re most likely familiar with Shane’s work with Kasey Chambers on the ARIA award winning albums “Rattlin’ Bones” and “Wreck and Ruin”, but it is his albums like “Bad Machines” and “Hell Breaks Loose” that truly encapsulate his true magic.  

It is Shane’s songwriting, that at times feels like poetry set to a melody, his songwriting is reminiscent of the greats like Bob Dylan and James Taylor, with an incredible ability to create imagery so vivid with his words that’s it’s almost tangible. 

One example of this magical writing is in his special released single “Don’t Take John Prine”, a hauntingly beautiful tribute to the legendary artist as he was battling Coronavirus, a battle he ultimately lost.  

Aside from his work as an artist, Shane has taken to working behind the board as a producer, working with artists like Catherine Britt, Beccy Cole, Alex Lloyd, Suze DeMarchi and Tori Forsyth, which saw both Catherine and Beccy nominated for ARIA Country Albums of the year in 2010 and 2012 respectively.  

We hear that Shane has been working on new music, but no news on a release date as yet, however in 2020, Shane made available on streaming platforms his “Sleeping Dogs – The Rarities” album containing a myriad of tracks either unreleased or previously unavailable digitally, including ‘Exit Wounds’ a complete banger in its own right. This is a treasure trove of Nicholson gold and we recommend checking it out along with Shane’s back catalogue.  

We caught up with Shane to ask him our Quaran-TEN and see how he has been passing the time: 

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