By: Ryan Duey
Photo Courtesy of Nathan Wade Country
After a long hiatus from music, Country music artist Nathan Wade, who has opened for the likes of Eric Church, Joe Nichols, Lee Brice, and more, is relaunching his career. He will be bringing his talents to Clyde during the 126th Annual Watermelon Festival on Sunday, August 31st, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Wade started in music 30 years ago. At age 21, he moved to Nebraska to start his journey. At first, he started writing music with the thought of sending his music to Nashville. After writing many originals, he decided to form a band, and they took off quickly.
Eventually, the band broke up. He then went solo for a while, but started listening to the noise.
“I started kind of listening to the noise that just me and my guitar weren’t enough to get the place going and things like that. So, in 2015, I released my last studio album.”
After taking in his grandson, everything changed.
“For the past six years, I’ve been raising my grandson. I adopted him, and I thought, I’m trying to teach my grandson to seek out his dreams, and I realized I wasn’t doing that.”
“So, I wanted to get back to music to be an example of that for him. It’s been going well, and I’m just having fun with it.”
At a young age, Wade’s mother married a gentleman with family members in the surrounding area; he then adopted him and his brother.
“When I was younger, my mom married a gentleman named Andy Andrewson, and he was good enough to adopt my brother and myself.”
“While that marriage didn’t last all that long, he continued to pay child support until we were 18, even though my mom said he didn’t have to.”
After losing touch for years, he reconnected with Andy and some of his adopted family.
“We eventually lost touch. Then, in my early 20s, when I moved up to Nebraska, I was actually able to meet up with him, which was great. But I never met most of his family.”
“Then Facebook, technology, and those things kind of reconnected us. Denise out there in Clyde said, ‘We have this Watermelon Festival, maybe you could come down.’ I said, ‘I’m all for it, let’s do it.’”
Wade will be putting on a live performance at his cousin’s home during the Watermelon Festival for all to enjoy.
To learn more about Wade and his music, visit his Nathan Wade Country Facebook page.
