2/23/26.
This seems to be happening more and more lately. Just a few weeks ago, I was certain I'd already posted about 22º Halo, but learned I hadn't. Here we are again. I came across "Refugia Blues", the newish (October 2025) LP from Fayetteville, Arkansas musician Nick Shoulders and assumed this would be my 2nd post - following my now apparent ghost-post of "All Bad".
I don't really post many country artists, but I do really enjoy the genre when done the way I like it done. Nick Shoulders does it that way. "Refugia Blues" and "All Bad" are fairly different - "All Bad" is a more rollicking/full band affair, while "Refugia Blue" is a more lonesome affair - just an yodeling musician with an instrument. Nick Shoulders' voice is something to behold (so is his artwork - he is responsible for all of his cover art).
Shoulders said, ""This is my Nebraska. Some people listen to Bruce for the E Street Band [Shoulders normally records with his band Okay, Crawdad] and the big radio hits, but I like the intimacy and rawness of Nebraska instead. I'd like to think of Refugia Blues as a little window into the heart, as opposed to the drumbeat of a revolution."
Shoulders' vocals remind me of Eugene McGuinness (who is not a country singer). The music recalls Dick Stusso, and Penny Carson Nichols. This is released by Gar Hole Records.
