![]() ![]() It’s named after Rateliff and his father’s practice of planting marigolds as nectar-producing ground cover, and a tribute to the dad who died in a car accident when Rateliff was 13. He’s answering the last question, in part, with his Marigold Project, a three-year-old nonprofit foundation dedicated to economic and social justice. It’s more like: How do we thrive? And how do we become a bigger, better part of our community?” “Now that it’s grown into that, it’s not just about sustainability. “If you’d asked me what success looked like back in the (the band) Born in the Flood or Rounder (Records) days, I would have said for this to be sustainable for everyone in my band and their families,” he said, referring to his mid-to-late 2000s Denver rock quartet and his acoustic-period label, respectively. More accountable to the longtime circle of friends who continue to help him. He smiles easily and often these days, despite the oft-weighty themes in his music, and is fulfilling his dream of working with idols such as John Prine, Mavis Staples and Willie Nelson (with whom he has a cannabis-brand partnership). All the aforementioned artists have also recorded music with Rateliff as part of a 7-inch split-single series for Rateliff’s nonprofit Marigold Project.īut even with his career on solid ground, he frets.īut Rateliff is afraid the solo album could be a victim of his better-known gig, a confusing detour into the quieter, more acoustic music he made before the Night Sweats’ full-throated, horn-laden hits like “S.O.B.” That song was certified gold (sales of 500,000 or more) after it was released on the Night Sweats’ 2015 debut full-length.Īs always, he struggles to be better. Rateliff is quick to express gratitude for his hard-won success, which lately includes a mix of “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” appearances (he’s a favorite of the host), sold-out global tours with neo-soul band the Night Sweats, and gigs such as opening for the Rolling Stones at the home of the Denver Broncos in August. “And then somebody will be like, ‘What’s that Death Star-looking thing up there?’ And I’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s Lockheed Martin. “I’ll be standing out there, just south of Red Rocks in those canyons, and I’ll say, ‘It’s beautiful out here!’ ” the 41-year-old musician said last month from his manager’s office in Denver. ![]() Listen to the entire interview from All Things Considered, courtesy of NPR.Monday, May 29th 2023 Home Page Close Menuįrom his new home, a 1971-built structure near Ken Caryl Road in unincorporated Jefferson County, Nathaniel Rateliff has an enviable view of Colorado’s natural wonders.Īs with everything great in his life, it’s tempered. “Sometimes you write things and you don’t know the impact of them on your life.” “I realized what I was singing about at the time and it just sort of shattered me,” Rateliff says. When he finished the song “Still Out There Running,” Rateliff says he broke down. “When I sat down to write some of the songs, I knew what I was writing about and it was really a question of like, ‘Alright, how honest are you going to be?'” “Sometimes songwriting is sort of an inside joke with yourself and those are the little secrets for me,” Rateliff explains. Rateliff’s songwriting on the new album is deeply personal, so much so that there are secrets within the lyrics he says he keeps only for himself. Watch: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats: Tiny Desk Concert He and his soul revival band gained notoriety in 2015 with the self-titled debut album and the confessional lead single “ S.O.B.” Now, the band are carrying on the tradition with its sophomore album, Tearing at the Seams. The Denver-based singer-songwriter has since created his own rock lineage. “Like, ‘Why aren’t our worship songs as good as that?'” “It was always a strange thing to me because growing up in church, it was like, ‘Well, if God made music, why is this secular stuff so much better?’,” Rateliff jokes. ![]() Rateliff remembers finding a Led Zeppelin tape out in a country barn and secretly listening to it over and over in his headphones. Long before he was the leader of rock octet Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Nathaniel Rateliff was a kid in rural Missouri sneaking around listening to rock and roll. Brantley Gutierrez/Courtesy of the artist ![]()
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