Nelson came of age in rural upstate New York, and his musical life has been spent deep in American roots music. An award-winning songwriter, his guitar work has been compared to Mississippi John Hurt and Dave Van Ronk, and writing to early Bob Dylan and John Prine. 

Nelson’s most recent project, Orphans & Relics, was a Roots Music Report Top 100 Folk Album, and it has captured some exceptional press (“…like listening to a plate of T Bone Burnett,” wrote AltCountry). 

Nelson is currently Seattle-based. His current drug of choice is caffeine.