No Depression Sessions at Folk Alliance International 2024: Nat Myers

Before we dive into our soundcheck and camera placement, we can already tell that Nat Myers’ No Depression Session at Folk Alliance International 2024 will feel good. The disarmingly down-to-earth Kentucky native naturally settles into conversation with the No Depression / AEA Ribbon Mics crew like it is a class reunion as opposed to our first time meeting, minimal introductions or small talk needed.

Myers starts the session with the title track of his debut album, Yellow Peril, released last summer on Easy Eye Sound. What we hear in this ND session is very similar to what is heard on the record: Myers’ singular voice accompanied by his Mule tritone resonator. The performance on the record is slightly more filled out with bass, limited percussion and gang vocals in the far background. But for all intents and purposes, we see and hear the same Nat Myers we had imagined. After performing the title track in this ND session, Myers rolls into “75-71,” the first song on the album.

Myers wastes no opportunity to shout out the people and organizations who have supported him along the way, including Willie Watson, who was the first to bring him out on the road. Myers’ tip of the cap extends to this publication as well, referencing Jim Shahen’s article about Yellow Peril.

The third and final song is a brand new one, given the working title of “Sleight of Hand.” Myers tells us that many of his new songs are concerned with the age-old themes of yearning for what we do not have, death and rebirth, and more classic “poetic quandaries.” Myers is also interested in diving deeper into the traditional folk and blues heroes who have shaped his musical world, like Mance Lipscomb and Kansas Joe McCoy.

Find previous No Depression Sessions at Folk Alliance International 2024 here, and look for more in the coming weeks.