Jeb Loy Nichols

Jeb Loy Nichols

Jeb Loy Nichols is an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist from Lander, Wyoming, and he lives in Wales. His work draws on folk, soul, country, reggae and blues, and he is associated with folk and related styles such as indie, honkytronica and blue-eyed soul.

Early life and influences

Nichols is born in Wyoming and grows up in Missouri. He first develops an interest in music through a Kansas City radio station that plays country in the daytime and soul at night, and he is raised on the music of Hank Williams, Bobby Womack, Al Green and Curtis Mayfield. As a teenager he moves to Austin, then to New York in the late 1970s, and later to London in the early 1980s.

London and The Fellow Travelers

In London, Nichols befriends and shares a house with Neneh Cherry, producer Adrian Sherwood and Ari Up of The Slits. He forms his first band, The Fellow Travelers, there, combining punk, soul and reggae with country-tinged acoustic songs and a dub influence. The band is described as the “lonesome children of Merle, Marley and Marx”, and it becomes part of the foundation of his later songwriting style.

Solo work and recordings

Nichols begins his solo career at Capitol Records with Lover's Knot in 1997. His fourth album, Now Then, is produced by Mark Nevers in Nashville and recorded in five days in Nevers’ studio. The sessions bring together members of Lambchop with Muscle Shoals veteran Clayton Ivey and soul singer Dan Penn, then continue in London with bassist Wayne Nunes, who has worked with Tricky and African Head Charge, and backing vocals from reggae singers Roy Cousins of The Royals and Struggle.

Labels and related projects

Nichols is connected with Bongo Beat Records, and Ralph Alfonso of the label speaks highly of one of his albums in a quoted statement included with the release. He is also associated with the groups Jeb Loy & The Oil Wells and Strange Faith, in addition to The Fellow Travelers.

Life in Wales

In 2000, Nichols and his wife Loraine Morley move to Wales, where they reclaim ten acres of neglected scrub land, renovate a barn and create a large garden. He describes Wales as feeling close to home, while also saying that he expects to move again at some point.

Style and critical response

Nichols’ songs bring together stories of broken families, runaways, loyalty and loss, and his music often balances restraint with warmth. Now Then is presented as a record shaped by shifting relationships between players, generations and places, and it reflects the soul music that first influenced him. One quoted review describes its “spare elegance”.