Nathaniel Rateliff Finds The Light Through A Lot Of Darkness

Nathaniel Rateliff has a really big heart and when you're in a room with him, you can feel it right away. He came to be known for his gruff, tattooed, bearded look and his foot-stomping, hand-clapping, sing-along songs with his band the Night Sweats. But after two successful albums with that band, Rateliff has released a new solo record that showcases his skill for soul-baring songwriting. It's called And It's Still Alright, and it finds Rateliff dealing with the loss of the producer of those two Night Sweats albums and his good friend, Richard Swift. In fact, Swift was supposed to work on this album: the two of them were trading ideas back and forth before Swift died in July 2018 as a result of complications from alcohol addiction.

Today, Nathaniel Rateliff joins me to talk abut how he honors his connection to Richard Swift with this album, and how, even when there's a lot of darkness, he manages to find the light. He also performs songs from his new album, beginning with "Time Stands." Listen in the player above.

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