Ben Nichols

Ben Nichols is best known as the frontman and songwriter for the long-running Memphis rock band Lucero. Now, at age 50, he is releasing one of his most personal pieces of work, a rare solo album titled "In the Heart of the Mountain". After getting a history degree in his home state of Arkansas, Nichols moved to Tennessee and started Lucero in 1998. Since then, the band has released 12 studio albums and kept up a constant touring schedule throughout the U.S. and overseas. In 2008, Nichols started playing more solo acoustic shows and was part of Chuck Ragan’s original “Revival Tour”. The same year he released his first solo effort, "The Last Pale Light in the West". "In the Heart of the Mountain" is Nichols first solo album since "The Last Pale Light in the West". Although not a concept album, the song titles in sequence do read as a kind of poem. The album features Nichols on acoustic guitar and vocals, as well as performing some of the electric guitar solos. He is accompanied by Morgan Eve Swain (The Huntress and the Holder of Hands, The Devil Makes Three, Brown Bird) on violin and backing vocals, Cory Branan on electric and acoustic guitars, and Todd Beene (Chuck Ragan, Glossary) on pedal steel and electric guitars.