SPH Presents: Gary Nicholson Live in the Rose Chapel!

We are so happy to have Gary Nicholson making a return visit in concert at our exquisite listening room! His shows are always incredible. This show will be have a full bar available for your enjoyment. As usual there will be a pickin' circle after the show so bring those instruments!

Gary Nicholson is a #1 hit songwriter, two time GRAMMY winning producer, recording artist, world traveling performer and session guitarist, and generally wants to take a back seat to fame. He prefers being “the man behind the song”.  In 2006, he was nominated to the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, and in 2011, he was inducted into the Texas Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. While his name may not be instantly familiar, music aficionados will recognize a few of the more than 600 songs Nicholson has penned through the last four decades; songs that have been recorded by artists in various genres including country, rock, blues, folk, bluegrass, and pop. His songs have been performed by such diverse artists as BB King, Garth Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, George Strait, Fleetwood Mac, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Etta James, John Prine, Dixie Chicks, Don Williams, Stevie Nicks, Buddy Guy, Emmylou Harris, Keb Mo, Ringo Starr, George Jones, The Neville Brothers, Reba McEntire, Robert Plant, Waylon Jennings, Patty Loveless, Kenny Chesney, Guy Clark and the list goes on. His work has been included in many major motion pictures and television, the song “Falling and Flying “ is featured in the Oscar winning film Crazy Heart performed by Jeff Bridges. ”Peace Dream” recorded by Ringo Starr was co-written by Gary, Ringo, and Gary Wright and features Paul McCartney on bass.

His collaboration with Delbert McClinton has been hugely successful and McClinton has recorded 35 of the songs he and Nicholson have written together. “I am very proud of my body of work with Delbert. He has embodied the country and rhythm and blues that made rock and roll what it was to begin with. He is one of my major influences in music making.” Nicholson has also produced five projects for Fort Worth native Delbert McClinton, winning Grammys® in the Best Contemporary Blues category for the albums, Nothing Personal in 2001, and Cost of Living in 2005. In addition to his long list of songs performed by other artists, Nicholson has a catalog of his own recordings, and many videos available on his website and other streaming services. He occasionally performs as his alter-ego, Whitey Johnson. The character of Whitey Johnson is based on a short story Nicholson wrote about a guitar player who performed at a fair in his hometown of Garland. When Nicholson performs as Whitey, he invokes the spirit of the blues music he has loved all his life. With deepest respect for all the great founding fathers of the blues, and songs that reflect his own unique point of view, Whitey Johnson lives on. When notified of his upcoming induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, among the most prestigious honors a songwriter can achieve, Nicholson said “I am a product of this environment, this community shaped me and gave me a way to live this dream. I credit this honor to the value of our songwriting community.”