Tennessee singer-songwriter Nathan Bell is known for his straightforward yet poetic lyrics, and expert musicianship. His stories are of everyman, sung with honesty and empathy. Though his subjects are often dark and troubled, Bell never leaves the listener without, as Leonard Cohen once wrote, ‘the crack, where the light comes through.’
A master guitarist, Bell often performs solo, allowing his instrument to turn his poetry to song, his metaphors to melody. Acoustic Guitar Magazine described his music as “rock-tinged country-folk,” his voice as “rustic, coupling the grain of Levon Helm with the gruff troubadour lilt of Kris Kristofferson.”
Son of famed poet-laureate of Iowa, Marvin Bell, his early years were filled with the comings and goings of literary giants such as Kurt Vonnegut and Studs Terkel. Instead of picking up a pen, Bell picked up a guitar.
Bell’s records have been played on nationally syndicated stations such as NPR’s Midnight Special and have topped folk/roots charts in the US and in Europe.