A younger generation of voices is making itself heard and felt within music performance circles throughout Muskoka, notably for their more current influences and attitudes to writing songs, singing and playing.
Jack Nickalls is a Huntsville singer-songwriter with a unique, individual sound, refreshingly unforced and seemingly inspired by a deep well of influences. His singing voice, filled with a calm tenderness, is fully supported by his guitar strings, and his writing often feels more like a journey than a destination.
Picking up the guitar at a young age, Jack has mastered his own path to learning his craft. Songwriting is only one of his creative aspirations; he is also a published poet and a consummate writer of fiction, plays and other formats, all of which fulfill his expressive needs.
“I think it’s just exciting, just sitting down and writing something, and you don’t know if it’s going to be good or bad, the creation like that is really exciting,” Jack revealed of having such gifts in his life.
Despite his artistic competency and prolific output, Jack has no current plans to pursue music as his primary profession. Very much a pragmatist, he is apprenticing for his electrician’s licence through a four-year training course.
“It’s good to have that kind of discipline in your life. That’s why I think I like working too, because it just kind of tethers you to your life in a way… I think I would go crazy if I didn’t have a job. If I was just at home, playing music, or playing a gig on a couple of days a week, I just couldn’t do it. I like the discipline of having another occupation, or a trade, or something,” explains Jack about why he is pursuing further education in a high-demand trade.
At this point, he has only sporadically recorded his compositions – his song ‘Evangeline’ was prominently featured on local radio – but he is waiting for an opportunity to record in an environment that gets the very best out of his material. Songwriting is more of a search for Jack, who often leaves a song behind as he perfects an idea. He likes to polish his material to a certain level and then move on to challenge himself with other ideas and stylings. “I try to write as much as I can, whether it’s songs or other stuff. I’ll write a song, and then I’ll play it for a bit, and then, eventually, I’ll write a new song and forget the old one, and forget how to play it and the words. It seems to just be like a revolving door of songs. Maybe that’s just me kind of refining them until I get something I really like…”
His performances are not only peppered with songs from many of his key influences, such as John Prine and Neil Young, but also with younger, soulful singers like Ray LaMontagne and Tyler Childers. Jack also has a deep appreciation for the Canadian songwriter and poet, Leonard Cohen, who captured his imagination with his songs, poetry and life.
Jack recognizes that no matter how developed his guitar technique or his singing abilities become, it is the songs that matter most. That’s what draws him to writers of Cohen’s calibre. The penetrating degree of finesse and persistent quest for quality imbue these songwriters’ work with truths and spiritual qualities many commercial artists fail to achieve.
Cohen’s influence on Jack’s writing appeared initially in his poetry, which preceded his songwriting. While there has always been an age-old debate about the similarity between the two art forms, poetry is certainly the more demanding of the two.
On stage, Jack is unassuming but commands attention. While he has never trained as a vocalist, his singing has naturally evolved into an alluring component of his concerts. Endearing for its tonal quality and sincerity, his voice prompts audiences to listen closely, allowing his lyrics and heartfelt emotion to communicate. Yet there is humbleness in his presence, which seems to be grounded in his upbringing and family connections. Jack fully credits his parents and grandparents for their guidance and encouragement as he progressed as a musician and writer — expressing deep gratitude for their foundational influences.
Jack does not keep much of a social media profile, preferring to limit himself to Instagram and allowing word of mouth to build momentum for his abilities. He finds the Huntsville music scene very welcoming, and he is often requested to work as an opening act for James Gray, Clayton Earle and others. He will be part of a singer-songwriter circle at Jimmy Joys Music Room on Sunday, February 08, at 3 p.m. in Port Sydney, featuring Leah Leslie and Amy Snow.
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We’ve featured Jack a couple of times and the crowd has definitely enjoyed his performance
Great stuff Kid…The future looks Bright !Bill Beatty