Artists Info

Nels Andrews is a devotee of the journey, of looking out windows and into the spaces between places, or between people, of exploring what is in between your last birthdays wish and the paint flaking off of your front door. His latest notebookful of observations and extrapolations appear on his upcoming second album, Off Track Betting.

Nels "grew up" all over the country, which hes crossed more than a few times by now. He sampled college life before being overcome by a growing wanderlust and split - hitch-hiking to Alaska for a season in the fisheries, to South Dakota to plant trees in the Black Hills, before landing in Taos, New Mexico.

While apprenticing as a woodworker, Nels lived alone mostly, in a mud and tire house miles down a fire road. His neighbors were well armed, amphetamine fueled misfits who kept their dogs log chains, and the grown children of elder hippies, whose gurus had all left town years ago. Nels befriended them all, especially with the small town drunks and prophets, who colored his worldview. He took notes, and hummed melodies, sat shyly with his guitar at campfires.

It was during this time, sitting around the campfires late nights on the mesa, that he drew on some courage to start playing the songs that had been growing slowly under the surface of his day-to-day. One such campfire led him to Kerrville Folk Festival, where he came out of nowhere with a homemade tape to win the New Folk songwriting contest, following past New Folk recipients Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett. Confidence gained, he resolved to put a band together, and returned, now to Albuquerque to record a proper album.

That first album, Sunday Shoes, released independently in 2005, was deemed by BBC2's legendary DJ Bob Harris as one his "Albums of the Year." The record went on to win critical praise from the US, UK and Dutch Americana music communities, and has earned him awards from Kerrville, Telluride, Mountain Stage New Song and Falcon Ridge in 2006.

Fast forward to today, and Nels' second album, Off Track Betting. With this album, "we strayed from the traditional folk sound, moving into newer soundscapes to incorporate harp, klezmer banjos, sampled electronics, toy pianos and a glass orchestra. A little distance gives perspective, and we were able to make a new place from the visions and imaginings a person may get when seeing somewhere from far away, maybe what you hope it will look like, when you get there."