Musicians I Know: Nathan Griner
The new Nathan Griner album, This Road. Nathan Griner is a singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Hastings, Minnesota. But he has guitar and will travel , often playing venues in the Twin Cities metro area and "up north," as we say in Minnesota. I would describe his style as boot-stomp alt.-country folk, influenced by the Lumineers and Neil Young (when Neil's in an acoustic mood). Nate sings with soul, feeling, and an underlying joy for music. His originals are earnest and heartfelt, and he's always down for some crowd-pleasing covers too. I first met Nate about five-and-half years ago at a family-and-friends bonfire at my aunt and uncle's place in Nisswa, Minnesota. My uncle had instructed me to bring my guitar so I could play along with Nate. I dutifully obliged, but hadn't really been a "campfire musician" before and so was unsure as to what to expect. The bonfire wasn't Nate's first rodeo, however, and he had his music binder