Nick Shoulders is a country and Americana singer-songwriter and whistler from Fayetteville, Arkansas who fronts the Okay Crawdad and revives Ozark folk traditions, yodeling and all. All Bad (2023) and Home on the Rage (2021) are the ones to reach for — old-time country with a working-class conscience. Shop Nick Shoulders vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Nick Shoulders is an American singer-songwriter and whistler from Fayetteville, Arkansas. He fronts Nick Shoulders & the Okay Crawdad. His distinctive blend of traditional country, Ozark folk, and yodeling and whistling vocal techniques - drawing extensively on early 20th-century country, hillbilly, and Appalachian musical traditions - has positioned him as a defining figure in the contemporary alternative country and Americana scene alongside contemporaries like Sierra Ferrell, Jake Xerxes Fussell, and the Local Honeys. He has been involved in advocacy for working-class and rural American issues and progressive politics, distinguishing himself from conventional contemporary country mainstream.
Nick Shoulders's sound combines country, traditional country, Americana, Ozark folk, old-time, alternative country, and hillbilly music with his distinctive vocal delivery (use of yodeling and whistling techniques), arrangements drawing on early 20th-century country and Appalachian musical traditions alongside contemporary alternative country influences.
Gar Hole Records pressings of the Nick Shoulders catalog have been issued in color variant editions.
Listeners new to Nick Shoulders typically start with All Bad (2023) or Home on the Rage (2021).
