Video Shoot

Shot a music video for the first single from the new record, “Buildings and Treetops“, with the brilliant Sam Atkinson and Dominic Storer at the helm this weekend. We were in a gorgeous London townhouse with a great team of people around me, most of them having met at Rankin’s studio. Had a great time being primped and preened by the best of the best.

Nell x

Having a Blast!

Chris Rea’s fans are possibly the most respectful and listening crowd I’ve ever been in front of.  Every night has been a full, crowded house in 2000-3000 capacity halls.  I’m out on that stage all by lonesome with nothing but my old faithful guitar, and yet you can hear a pin drop.  When people are seated and listening this intently, it means I can focus on the lyrics and dynamics of a song in a way that is inspiring for me.

“Learn to Fly”

Nashville

I’m down in Nashville this week for some business meetings, and it’s been awesome to be back in Music City.  Last night I managed to get out to a little dive on the edge of town to see the Wooten Brothers play.  The weather has been  crazy, with major lightning storms cutting out power around the city, and buckets of rain falling in ten minute bursts.  I fly back to New York tomorrow, weather permitting.

Striking a Chord Screening in MA

Tonight I had a screening and performance of “Striking a Chord” at the Memorial Town Hall in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.  The Q+A section after the film was especially interesting this time, since there were family members of servicemen and women in the audience who were able to weigh in on the psychological implications of the troops fighting unpopular wars, and enduring multiple deployments and long times away from their families.  In a liberal town like Shelburne Falls, it was nice to stress again the importance of removing all political implications and opinions from the dialog about supporting our troops.  My performing for our soldiers was never an endorsement of the wars America is embroiled in. By removing politics from the discussion I was able to get to the heart of the matter, which was meeting the brave men and women out there on the front lines, and connecting with them on an essentially human level through the universal language of music.

Charity Event Tonight with John Mayer

I flew back to New York City to appear at a charity event tonight with John Mayer at the Highline Ballroom, to benefit troops suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  John played an acoustic set to a very intimate audience, and showed a 20 minute clip of “Striking A Chord,” which he was very moved by.  The night was organized by Nile Rogers’ We Are Family Foundation, and I was so happy to see Nile looking healthy and well after his radical surgery to battle cancer.  I also met Steve van Zandt from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, who told me he loved my music and what I had done, at which point I turned into a puddle on the floor, and somehow managed to get someone to take a photo of us together (thanks Marc Birnbach).  Best of all I got to see my dear friend Lt Colonel Scott Rainey again, who was the man that brought me to Iraq both times and who I’ve stayed in close contact with.

Round Two in the Studio!

Round Two in the Studio! The band-that-can and I are back at State of the Ark in Richmond. Being in the studio may be my favorite activity on earth. After all the touring, it’s great to have the quiet and reflection and excitement of creating something new. We’ve got five days to record eight songs, and then will do overdubs at Mark’s studio at Metrophonic as before. I’m bouncing off the walls.

Flying back to London from New York

Today I fly back to London from New York to continue work on the new album. Mark and I have got lots of pre-production to do, and need to pick the next eight songs to record.

Screening of Susan Rockefeller’s documentary “Striking A Chord”

My friends at Hesso Media threw me a fun birthday party on March 8 in London, and then the following week I flew back home to New York to see my family. There was a screening of Susan Rockefeller’s Iraq documentary “Striking A Chord” in Amherst, Massachusetts that I played and spoke at. I went to high school in Amherst, and hadn’t performed there since I left at 18. It was pretty validating to see my name up in lights on the marquee, especially since I felt so insecure and unhappy in this town as a teenager. The director of my high school musicals came out to see the show, and it was one of those moments of, “oh wow, look how far I’ve come.” But the real joy was seeing the faces of the brave troops I was privileged to have met, finally up there on the big screen. It’s so rare to see a human side of our soldiers, since often they are used as political pawns in whatever bipartisan media war is going on back home. This was the first screening I got to be a part of, even though the documentary has already been making the rounds at film festivals.