Some Studio Milwaukee Sessions you know are going to be different well before the first note gets played. One of the deadest of dead giveaways is being greeted on stage by a saxophone next to a digital mixer next to a sampling pad, all arranged around a buffet of pedals and switchers.
In other words, one-man bands have come a long way since Mary Poppins, and the tech-forward setup piqued curiosity before Nelson Devereaux stepped into the performance space for Tuesday’s session.
The Milwaukee-born artist is one of those talents who gets his music into people’s ears without them even realizing it. His skill with saxophone, clarinet and flute in hand has been utilized by a raft of beloved indie acts — Bon Iver, This Is the Kit, Magdalena Bay, The Hold Steady and Craig Finn, to name a few.
Then there’s his solo output, which just a few weeks ago brought us the jazz-inflected infinity (and its delightful 8-bit cover art). That project and the one that came just before — 2023’s Bird of Paradise, his album with younger brother Max — provided back-to-back evidence of Devereaux’s spectrum. Experimental one minute, accessible the next.
Both took the spotlight during Tuesday’s noontime session a few hours before Devereaux’s show at Cactus Club with fellow Milwaukeean Klassik. "Ghostrider" and its manipulated vocals led off the set; "lisbon" provided a shot of chunky, digitized beats; and "gone" closed things out with sheer and simple beauty aided by tourmate Suko Pyramix on guitar.
In the midst of those carefully crafted compositions, Devereaux put aside the many available tools of his trade to chat with 88Nine music director Erin Wolf about the sometimes-weird existence of a touring musician and the hometown walks that inspired the second song in his set.
“I would come back to my mom’s place between tours,” he recalled of his time traveling with Bon Iver. “She lives by Lisbon [Avenue], and I would walk to Walter’s on North and sort of hang out there. I would put Dean Martin on the jukebox, and everyone would get mad. Really mad, actually. Way too mad. But I was like, ‘This is chill. This is good-times music.’
“I would take my meditative walk back, and the lyrics kind of reference that. I draw a lot of inspiration from this area. I love this area deeply.”
You can hear that affection in the Studio Milwaukee Session available for your listening enjoyment at the top of the page. While you take in the performance, secure a seat at our next one by bouncing over to our membership page and joining the Radio Milwaukee family today.
Studio MKE: Nelson Devereaux set list
- “ghostrider”
- “lisbon”
- “gone”
- "response" (member-exclusive performance)
