Nick Hexum

You might know Nick Hexum as the laid-back, crooner-voiced frontman of 311. But his solo trilogy -Waxing Nostalgic, Full Memories, and Waning Time , reveals a more vulnerable side: a Midwestern storyteller with a mandolin, pedal steel, and a lot on his mind. “Covid made me realize how limited our time really is. It motivated me to create as much as possible,” Hexum says. Drawing inspiration from books by Mary Gauthier and Rick Rubin, and artists like Sierra Ferrell and k.d. lang, he began writing more personal songs, about memory, family, fatherhood, and loss. “Please Explain,” co-written with Ben Kweller, is a father’s plea for emotional openness. “I Am Open” reflects on Hexum’s late brother and the limits of trying to help someone in pain. “Careless” leans into old-school country, while “Cosmic Connection” is a mandolin-led waltz that urges unity in divisive times. Covers like Billie Holiday’s “Solitude” and Chappell Roan’s “California” let his crooner instincts shine. Starting SKP, a tech company that empowers artist independence, gave him the freedom to share these songs on his own terms. “I don’t have to wait for anyone’s permission, and time is of the essence,” he says.