With so many old things coming back, it almost feels nostalgic to be living in the current era. Be it Y2K fashion, movie reboots, or music genres, it’s safe to say that the best long-lost cultures have been revived in the past few years. All thanks to the talented people who not only see the value of these things but also have the passion for bringing them back and showcasing it in front of the entire world so that they can live through it once again.
That’s exactly what Nickolas Benson is doing and has for years after he decided to revive long-lost #RockPopCountryBlues music. Nickolas is a self-taught musician who learned to play the guitar when he was at war in the Persian Gulf. Intriguing, right?Life was normal for Nickolas before he was sent to the Middle East for 18 months. His life took a drastic new direction and everything turned upside down. His dream to pursue music came to a halt, until one day he found out that he could easily buy an acoustic guitar at the small shop on his tent city base. And thus began Nickolas Benson’s journey as a musician.
In between war convoy missions, while he was still driving trucks to military bases all over the Gulf, he would take out time to play the guitar and write his own music. He even started a band with fellow veterans called the Blue Falcons and wrote a double album titled Desert Dogs, on SoundCloud now. Nickolas performed for thousands of coalition troops and got featured in the Stars And Stripes-U. S. Military newspaper, on the 4th of July. While stationed in the Persian Gulf, he became the rock star he’d always dreamed of being.
Since then, Nickolas’s passion has driven him to make dynamic original music combined with exhilarating on-stage performances. His goal is to empower the human experiences, especially his own, through his music. For instance, the time when he wrote “The Heart of What Really Matters,” he poured his feelings out about everything he lost, everything he missed due to the war and everything he took for granted before he left to fight.
Every song he writes is meant to tell you a story that would ultimately inspire you too. “You don’t always have to scream. The beauty lies in simplicity. Enjoy the pure magic of an acoustic guitar and the feeling of an inspired vocal, leave the rest to production. You have to learn to get it right at the most basic, rawest form first,” he explained.When it comes to Rock music, Nickolas can rock your socks off, too! The secret is simple; his music is relatable, and his songs are lively. This not only makes the production process easier but also adds the necessary element that helps his music reach people all across the world. This element is the power of storytelling. In one of his absolute favorite songs, “Walk between the Raindrops,” he asks the hard-hitting question; why were we sent to war? A question that is perhaps too difficult to describe in words which is why he expressed it through music. That’s how he creates his magic.
Bringing back classic rock, pop, traditional Country and blues music wasn’t easy, but Nickolas did it anyway. At the core of his music is his sheer love for the artistry. He fell in love with the rhythm of the Randy Travis hit, “The Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart” at the young age of 8, listening to his Grandma Edna’s AM radio and he was told by his high school band teacher that he had a good ear for music. Even when circumstances seemed impossible while fighting in a war, he paved the way for his music.
Nickolas Benson has not only managed to launch a group called These Lovers but also has a Rolling Stones act called ReRolling Stoned, along with his solo career, all can be found on SoundCloud and everywhere else.
He is undoubtedly making waves onstage during his live online shows, performing originals among 100 hits from 50 popular artists at sessionslive.com/nickolasbenson 8PM Central nightly. Nickolas firmly believes that there is absolutely nothing off limits!
