All Photos: Alan Mercer
Photos taken at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
Fuse Texas Country grit with down-home rock n’ roll and you get Cameran Nelson, a true Texas Troubadour whose roots run deep across 1,815 miles of the Lone Star State from Haskell, Texas where he was born to living South of Kingsville, East of Rockwall, West of Lubbock and now settled in the hill country town of Blanco.
Cameran’s knack for the neon lights and passion for the stage all started at the age of thirteen when he began playing bass in his dad’s country band. At fifteen, he spent a few years selling merchandise for the late, great Gary Stewart, where he learned how the “King of Honky Tonk” entertained crowds. The calling for music took him to the West Texas plains to pursue an education in music. With a music scholarship in hand, Nelson attended the South Plains College in Levelland, Texas where he studied vocals and guitar.
After graduating, Nelson released his first full length album in 2013 entitled “Happy to Beer” and was nominated for three Texas Music Awards: Male Vocalist, Rising Star, and Record of the Year. Following the charted success with singles, “Thrown”, “Happy to Beer”, and “Reckless in Texas,” Nelson landed his first [multi-week] #1 on the Texas Regional Radio Report and the Texas Music Chart with “35 Runs Both Ways.” Cameran released three 4 song EP's in 2018.
While songwriting is a craft and passion, getting on stage is what Cameran Nelson does best. He has captivated fans across the nation with his high-energy show, performing with Country music mainstays Lee Brice, Dustin Lynch, Randy Rogers Band, Jack Ingram, Kevin Fowler, Aaron Watson and many more.
Cameran was awarded Songwriter of the Year and Entertainer of the Year by The Texas Country Music Association in 2018.
Alan Mercer: When did you start recording music Cameran?
Cameran Nelson: I recorded my first album when I was fourteen. I’ve been involved with several different projects growing up. My dad is a musician, so that got me into it. The first CD that I made, I was in a rock band. Then I was in a Christian band and a Praise and Worship group for a while. Then I did a little bit of Country music and next I went to college and studied music. I kept recording through the whole thing and once I was out of college I started touring pretty heavily in all different kinds of music.
AM: You do blend several styles and then it becomes your style. I think you are most commonly labeled Country Rock music.
CN: I hope it comes across that I like Country and Rock.
AM: Are you still writing a lot of songs?
CN: I haven’t written as much lately. I do have to write a lot of songs to get one good one. I feel like there is a very small percentage of songs that are good enough to put on an album. I also write a lot of songs that I feel are good, but not for what I am doing live, so I will send songs to other artists.
AM: You sing a lot of up tempo, party songs. Is that your favorite?
CN: It’s definitely my favorite to play live. Now if we get into an acoustic setting, I like playing my ballads like ‘Home Wasn’t Built In A Day.’
AM: You have a deep and meaningful song called ‘Pictures On The Wall’ that I really like.
CN: My buddy Drew Cooper wrote that song. The first time I heard it I asked him to please let me record that.
AM: So, you are open to recording other people’s songs?
CN: I do record other people’s songs. I’ve got a lot of friends who are songwriters. If it’s a good song and it fits, I’m not opposed to recording it.
AM: You released three 4 song EP’s last year as opposed to one full length album. Why did you choose that route?
CN: I think the way music has gone over the past five to ten years, especially with social media, it got to a point, especially with my last record where I put it out and it was a flash in the pan kind of thing. It was something I spent a lot of money and time on. I released it and six months later it felt like I needed to be releasing something else.
AM: Releasing new music really has changed in the last decade.
CN: With the ‘Good Thing Going’ record, we released it all at once, which was fine with the first record, ‘Happy To Beer’ because we released that one long enough ago and it had some longevity and pushing new singles still brought people back to purchase the record. When I saw such a huge change from the first to second album. I thought with this one, we would prolong the release by releasing it in three sections throughout the entire year.
AM: That makes a lot of sense.
CN: In a couple months we’re going to package the whole thing as one, add a bonus track and re-release it.
AM: Did releasing it in three sections work better for you?
CN: It seemed to. It’s hard to judge. My last record didn’t have the benefit of Spotify, which was new and not really established yet. At least it wasn’t for me. I didn’t focus on it, but now the streaming side of it went way above and beyond what the previous records did. I feel like it worked but it’s hard to judge when you’re comparing apples to oranges.
AM: You recently won some awards from the Texas Country Music Association. What was that like?
CN: We got Songwriter of the year and Entertainer of the year. I say we because it’s not just me. It’s a whole team of guys that come together to make an album.
AM: Wow! What does it feel like to be named Entertainer of the Year?
CN: It felt very unexpected. I thought it was really cool how they set it up that everybody can be nominated. I fall into a little bit different category than a lot of the other artists that were nominated. It’s hard to say how it feels. It was very unexpected and very appreciated.
AM: Well it’s a big honor and a help to your career, I am sure.
CN: It’s a cool thing to have on my web site.
AM: You’re a family man.
CN: Oh yeah!
AM: How many children do you have?
CN: We have four now. Three boys and my oldest is a girl named Calla. She’s a musician too. She just tried out for Region Band for the Blanco area. There were over 400 students and she was the only sixth grader to make it on to All Region Band. She is third chair flute. She also plays guitar, mandolin, ukulele and piano.
AM: Do your kids ever travel with you when they can?
CN: No, they will go to shows locally. They are all very busy. My oldest son Rhyder is into baseball and basketball. He’s very athletic. He also plays the guitar a little bit. My middle son, Coen is a handful. He’s all over the place and wants to be a part of everything his brother and sister are doing. Our youngest, Finn is just now two in February so he’s too young to be in the loud concert settings. We have our hands full.
AM: You might end up with another musician or two.
CN: Yeah, we’re not pushing it on them. There’s been times when Rhyder has shown interest and he wants a guitar and we’ll get him one. I’m not going to force it down this throat. If he’s in it, he’s in it and if he’s not, that’s fine too.
AM: You must have had a lot of support with your father being a musician.
CN: Oh yeah! My parents have been my biggest supporters since day one. Now, they will travel to come see me play quite a bit.
AM: Do they live in Blanco too?
CN: No, they live in Abilene.
AM: Where did you grow up?
CN: We moved around Texas a lot. I was born north of Abilene and grew up down in the valley, then went to high school east of Dallas and went to college west of Lubbock.
AM: No wonder you won entertainer of the year! You know this state! (Laughing)
CN: I know a lot of people in the state.
AM: I think you are getting ready for the biggest year of your career so far. Do you play outside of Texas?
CN: We play Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and all the way over to Florida and everywhere in between.
