# Nick Shoulders > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nick_Shoulders > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nick_Shoulders.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Shoulders > Source revision: 1356758945 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Nicklaus Robert Shoulders** is an American [country](/source/Country_music) singer-songwriter from [Fayetteville, Arkansas](/source/Fayetteville,_Arkansas). After achieving local success with his [punk rock](/source/Punk_rock) band Thunderlizards in the early 2010s and playing harmonica and [banjo](/source/Banjo) with [Shawn James and the Shapeshifters](/source/Shawn_James_(musician)), in 2017 Shoulders began releasing [country music](/source/Country_music) as a solo artist.[2][3][4] ## Early Life Nicklaus Robert Shoulders was born in [Little Rock, Arkansas](/source/Little_Rock,_Arkansas) to parents Bob and Katherine (maiden name Riley). He grew up in [Roland, Arkansas](/source/Roland,_Arkansas).[5] Shoulders grew up in a music household, with both sides of his family being different types of musicians.[6] He was a whistler as a boy, due to his father also being a whistler who taught him how to whistle. His father taught him how to mimic the birds outside.[7] His whistling helped him learn yodeling later on.[8] Other than whistling and yodeling, he taught himself different instruments including drums, guitar, harmonica, and the violin.[9] He was raised [Southern Baptist](/source/Southern_Baptist).[10] His maternal grandpa, Pat M. Riley,[11] was a gospel singer, which also inspired Shoulders.[12] ## Career He started in a local Fayetteville band called Thunderlizards, playing drums.[13][14] The band was punk rock with some country elements and had a lot of [political](/source/Political) messages.[15] After the band, he started working with Shawn James, another country singer and whistler, and played banjo for him.[16] After touring with James, be began his solo work. His solo work has reached a much wider audience, beginning with a performance of his original song "Rather Low" gathering considerable momentum on YouTube.[17] Shoulders has been praised for his distinctive vocal style, which incorporates influences from [early country music](/source/Country_music#First_generation_(1920s)) in the form of [yodelling](/source/Yodelling) and [whistling](/source/Whistling).[18] In addition to his music, Nick is also an accomplished illustrator having attended [Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design](/source/Rocky_Mountain_College_of_Art_and_Design) in [Denver, Colorado](/source/Denver,_Colorado). His artwork has been notably featured on beer cans of the Fossil Cove Brewing Company in [Fayetteville](/source/Fayetteville,_Arkansas), AR.[19] He has created additional mural installations in Fayetteville at The Smoke and Barrel Tavern[20] and The Little Bread Company.[21] ## Politics Shoulders has been outspoken in questioning the culture of modern country music: In a 2020 article for [I*n These Times*](/source/In_These_Times_(publication)), he criticized "fake twang" – the imitation of the [Southern accent](/source/Southern_American_English) by musicians who are not from the [American South](/source/American_South), considering this practice symptomatic of the close association between mainstream country music, [whiteness](/source/White_people), and [Conservatism in the United States](/source/Conservatism_in_the_United_States). This association, he argued, failed to "acknowledge the diverse and complicated origin of these uniquely American musical forms", as well as the diversity of the rural United States as a whole, and he expressed the aspiration to help make country music "more accessible and more welcoming to people outside of the white rural experience".[22] Shoulders was one of the few country singers to call out the racism the genre treated [Beyonce](/source/Beyonce) when [Cowboy Carter](/source/Cowboy_Carter) came out.[23] ## Discography - *Lonely Like Me* (2018) - *Okay, Crawdad* (2019) - *Home on the Rage* (2021) - *Heart of Night (EP)* (2022) - *All Bad* (2023) - *Refugia Blues* (2025) ## References [24] 1. Tsahalis, Kostantina. ["Do You Actually Hate Country?"](https://stuyspec.com/article/do-you-actually-hate-country). *Stuyvesant Spectator*. Retrieved 2023-07-23. Chock-full of whistles and yodels, Nick Shoulders makes progressive country music that has its fair share of politically charged tunes. 1. Barrett, Roger (July 3, 2012). ["Flyer Profile: Thunderlizards"](https://www.fayettevilleflyer.com/2012/07/03/flyer-profile-thunderlizards/). *Fayetteville Flyer*. Retrieved April 7, 2021. 1. ["Bear – Shawn James"](https://www.allmusic.com/album/bear-mw0002624265). *AllMusic*. Retrieved April 7, 2021. 1. Barrett, Roger (December 11, 2020). ["Nick Shoulders returns home, preps new album and label"](https://www.fayettevilleflyer.com/2020/12/11/nick-shoulders-returns-home-preps-new-album-and-label/). *Fayetteville Flyer*. Retrieved April 7, 2021. 1. [https://qltyamericana.com/2025/04/29/how-to-tour-with-chronic-pain-nick-shoulders-on-the-cost-of-being-an-independent-artist/](https://qltyamericana.com/2025/04/29/how-to-tour-with-chronic-pain-nick-shoulders-on-the-cost-of-being-an-independent-artist/) 1. [https://shepherdexpress.com/music/music-feature/nick-shoulders-cant-escape-country/](https://shepherdexpress.com/music/music-feature/nick-shoulders-cant-escape-country/) 1. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CBuAWhYJPxM/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CBuAWhYJPxM/) 1. [https://hpr1.com/index.php/arts-entertainment/music/nick-shoulders-a-healthy-dose-of-southern-pride/](https://hpr1.com/index.php/arts-entertainment/music/nick-shoulders-a-healthy-dose-of-southern-pride/) 1. [https://qltyamericana.com/2025/04/29/how-to-tour-with-chronic-pain-nick-shoulders-on-the-cost-of-being-an-independent-artist/](https://qltyamericana.com/2025/04/29/how-to-tour-with-chronic-pain-nick-shoulders-on-the-cost-of-being-an-independent-artist/) 1. [https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/nick-shoulders-home-on-the-rage-interview](https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/nick-shoulders-home-on-the-rage-interview) 1. [https://qltyamericana.com/2025/04/29/how-to-tour-with-chronic-pain-nick-shoulders-on-the-cost-of-being-an-independent-artist/](https://qltyamericana.com/2025/04/29/how-to-tour-with-chronic-pain-nick-shoulders-on-the-cost-of-being-an-independent-artist/) 1. [https://bostonhassle.com/nick-shoulders-home-on-the-rage/](https://bostonhassle.com/nick-shoulders-home-on-the-rage/) 1. [https://fayettevilleflyer.com/2013/06/28/the-thunderlizards-turn-another-year-older/](https://fayettevilleflyer.com/2013/06/28/the-thunderlizards-turn-another-year-older/) 1. [https://hpr1.com/index.php/arts-entertainment/music/nick-shoulders-a-healthy-dose-of-southern-pride/](https://hpr1.com/index.php/arts-entertainment/music/nick-shoulders-a-healthy-dose-of-southern-pride/) 1. [https://arktimes.com/rock-candy/2023/09/15/yodel-but-make-it-hardcore-a-qa-with-nick-shoulders](https://arktimes.com/rock-candy/2023/09/15/yodel-but-make-it-hardcore-a-qa-with-nick-shoulders) 1. [http://idleclassmag.com/shawn-james-returns-with-new-ep-the-bear/](http://idleclassmag.com/shawn-james-returns-with-new-ep-the-bear/) 1. Mitchell, Matt (April 7, 2021). ["Ozark Outlaw Nick Shoulders Challenges Southern Preconceptions on "Home on the Rage""](https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/nick-shoulders-home-on-the-rage-interview). *Bandcamp*. Retrieved April 7, 2021. 1. Dennis, Timothy (August 16, 2019). ["Crooner, Artist Transitions from Punk to Honky Tonk"](https://www.kuaf.com/post/crooner-artist-transitions-punk-honky-tonk#stream/0). *KUAF*. Retrieved April 7, 2021. 1. ["Fossil Cove Brewing Company"](https://www.fossilcovebrewing.com/beers) 1. ["New mural project complete off Dickson Street"](https://www.fayettevilleflyer.com/2015/07/21/new-mural-project-complete-off-dickson-street/) 1. [https://www.instagram.com/p/BgRjpovHDd0/?tagged=blockstreet&hl=en](https://www.instagram.com/p/BgRjpovHDd0/?tagged=blockstreet&hl=en). littlebread.com 1. Shoulders, Nick (March 21, 2020). ["Fake Twang: How White Conservatism Stole Country Music"](https://inthesetimes.com/article/country-music-southern-accent-conservatism-confederacy-ken-burns-blues). *In These Times*. Retrieved April 7, 2021. 1. [https://pulp.aadl.org/node/628207](https://pulp.aadl.org/node/628207) 1. ["Album Review – Nick Shoulders – "Home on the Rage""](https://www.savingcountrymuhttps://www.fossilcovebrewing.com/beerssic.com/album-review-nick-shoulders-home-on-the-rage/). *Saving Country Music*. May 1, 2021. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nick Shoulders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Shoulders) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Shoulders?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.