Today we’d like to introduce you to Autumn Nicholas.
Hi Autumn, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have been playing guitar since the age of 12, and got started playing local venues in my home state of North Carolina, before I moved to Nashville in 2021. My work explores vulnerability, resilience, love, and healing. Grounded in a belief that music can be a form of care and connection, I create performances that invite presence, reflection, and shared humanity. Whether on an intimate house show or a festival stage, my live shows feel less like a performance and more like a space to exhale and just be human together.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m gay. I’m Black. The world is against both of those things. I can list all of the hard differences by saying about some of our history in queerness and in being a Black artist in Nashville. I was a wonderful jukebox in NC up until then. No one really remembered my name. Then I got here, and it was a fight for who wrote the best songs, and I wasn’t white enough for the labels.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I was honored to be recognized as one of Music Forward Foundation’s Emerging LGBTQ+ Artists and Nashville Scene’s Country Music Almanac Artists to Watch. I draw inspiration from movements like Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ advocacy. My music celebrates the beauty of individuality—beyond gender, circumstance, or skin—and encourages listeners to reflect, connect, and take action.
I’m proud of my performances at Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend, Mothership, and Echos through the Canyon, Newport Folk Festival, 30A Songwriters Festival, and Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe, where I hosted the first-ever all-Black History round. I shared the stage at Bridgestone Arena for the Love Rising benefit alongside Hozier, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, Sister Strings, and more. I’ve played the main stage at Nashville Pride, performed in the Pass the Mic series at The Tennessee Theatre, and opened for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at the Ryman Auditorium.
I recently started a non-profit called Mental Maintenance. Something I’ve noticed over and over at my shows is that people aren’t just coming for music. People come because they want connection. They want to feel seen. They want someone to ask them, “How are you doing, really?” I hear versions of the same thing constantly: “Your music helped me stay.” And thus, Mental Maintenance was born.
I’ve really seen the effects that life can take on your mental balance when you don’t take time to give yourself self-love, and that means mental maintenance just like we rotate our tires. How do we do that for our minds?
Mental Maintenance officially launches early 2027, but is already in its soft-launch phase through morning journal prompts, meditation, and coaching, available now on my website: https://www.autumnnicholas.com
As far as what I’m most proud of? The world that I am creating with family, and chosen family.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
It’s not about the ending, it’s about the process. The process is the point. Kindness literally goes further than anything else. Further than money. And man, have we spent a lot of kindness.
Pricing:
- Come to a show, support local artists
- Free hugs
- 30 minutes coaching, $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.autumnnicholas.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnnicholas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autumn.nicholas
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClE54mRrBm9G3mSgzOZ2u6g
- Soundcloud: https://www.autumnnicholas.com/press
