Israel Nash takes "Ozarker" all over Europe

Israel Nash’s 2009 debut, New York Town, introduced a gifted artist with a powerfully expressive voice in search of both a sound and identity. He grew by leaps and bounds over the next few albums, his songs developing into moody, folk-inflected country-rock that gave more than a nod to Neil Young’s quieter side. By 2014’s Rain Plans and 2015’s Silver Season, Nash started augmenting his acoustic folk with psychedelic dreamscapes reminiscent of Pink Floyd on a weeklong excursion to Laurel Canyon. With 2021’s Topaz, elements of ’70s-era soul and R&B appeared around the edges.

Now comes Ozarker. Teaming with producer Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Ray LaMontagne), Nash has not pivoted so much as he’s placed these sounds inside a framework of driving yet atmospheric heartland rock. In doing so, he’s created his greatest studio achievement so far.

‘Ozarker’, a reference to the Ozarks region in his native Missouri, sees Nash returning to his roots for musical inspiration with some of the characters coming either directly from his own family history or from second-hand accounts handed down. 

“I grew up in little churches that were in the middle of nowhere in Missouri, so having the woods and being outside has been part of me since I was a kid,” Nash says. “I also saw community, just this sense of people needing something, somebody, to look forward to. That was church for them, and that’s okay. I don’t really feel like there is just one right thing to look forward to. As a musician, I think that’s what I’ve found, too, something for people to look forward to, a reason to come together. No matter what changes in my career, that is my anchor: the need people have.”

Nash is often portrayed as a metaphysics, loving hippie, living off the land alone, and he is. But he is also a pragmatist with a master’s degree who needs time in the city and to be with people. Nash’s gentle insistence that he is all of these things, and more, is an important reminder for the rest of us: We all contain multitudes.

With Ozarker, Israel Nash is coming over for an extensive European tour starting on January 23 in Amsterdam:

23/01: Amsterdam, NL - Tolhuistuin
24/01: Nijmegen, NL - Doornroosje
25/01: Groningen, NL - Huize Maas
26/01: Maastricht, NL - Muziekgieterij
27/01: Paris, FR - La Maroquinerie
28/01: London, UK - The Garage
29/01: Manchester, UK - The Deaf Institute
30/01: Glasgow, UK - Celtic Connections
01/02: Bergen, NO - USF
02/02: Falkenberg, SWE - Rootsy Winter Festival
03/02: Stockholm, SWE - Nalen
04/02: Östersund, SWE - Storsjöteatern
05/02: Trondheim, NO - Trykkeriet Scene
06/02: Oslo, NO - Røverstaden
07/02: Göteborg, SWE - Pustervik
09/02: Gävle, SWE - Central Theater
10/02: Kristianstad, SWE - Biljardkompaniet
11/02: Malmö, SWE - Palladium
12/02: Helsingborg, SWE - The Tivoli
14/02: Berlin, DE - Lido
16/02: Bozen, IT - Teatro Comunale di Gries
17/02: Chiari, IT - Auditorium Scuole Primarie
20/02: Bilbao, ESP - Kafe Antzokia
21/02: Avilés, ESP - Factoria Cultural
22/02: Madrid, ESP - Copérnico
23/02: Valencia, ESP - Loco Club
24/02: Zaragoza, ESP - Rock & Blues Club
25/02: Barcelona, ESP - Sala Upload