In Conversation: Nico Little & The North Americans

Written by Ana Ladaniuski

Nico Little and Gary Clark Jr. (Photo by Ally Wanders)

Slipfast sat down with Nico Little of Nico Little & The North Americans on July 17, 2025 to discuss the band's latest album, Another Saturday in Austin, Live From Antone's, musical inspiration, and more. The modern psychedelic blues band has gained a local following in Austin, Texas and has played numerous venues and events around the "Live Music Capital of the World."

Ana: Hey Nico! How’s it going?

Nico: What’s up? I’m good, I’m good.

Ana: We met at BackPorch not long ago, great set!

Nico: Yes! I do remember this, we met inside!

Ana: Yeah, it’s awesome we get to do this now.

Nico: Very much so, I love the piece you guys did on The Metropolis. Did you guys just release that?

Ana: Yes! Claire, our Editor-in-Chief, just did that not long ago.

Nico: My drummer lives there, and we record all of our drums right next to the pool, so that was cool.

Ana: Oh my god, this is awesome! What a small world, I had no idea.

Nico: Yeah, very small world. That’s very cool.

Ana: Well, we were just talking about BackPorch, so let’s jump to some of your other recent performances. I know you just did the benefit concert at the Long Center, right?

Nico: Yeah, that was very cool.

Ana: Tell me about it, how was it?

Nico: It was really- I mean, that was probably the biggest crowd I’ve played to date. It was like 2,000 people so I was like “Ahh, this is sick!”

Ana: That is sick!

Nico: Yeah, I was nervous, though, for sure. And I didn’t think I was gonna be, I was like “I got this!” but I think I’m gonna give myself a pass, because it was a big show and I only had one song, and I didn’t really have time to warm up and do it. But, like, there were a lot of people and I was very nervous, but it was super cool. It was for such a good cause too, so I don’t know, I was just very honored to have been asked. I’m just like a young Canadian kid, like I don’t feel like I’m that Texas- like I didn’t really know how to help. It was just such a crazy situation, so I was like it’s awesome that I get to do this. And the guys who ran it were great.

Ana: Yeah, for sure! And I know that you’re doing another benefit concert soon at Mozart’s on the 26th, with your buddy Rhys!

Nico: I am, yeah and he’s really good, so I’m excited to play with him. Basically, anytime I get to play with that kid, I’m really excited. And he’s- I don’t know if you know anything about Rhys, but he’s kinda like a prodigy blues player, and yeah- he’s just so badass. To have him come out and play with us, both for a benefit concert that is really important and just in general, is great. I’m glad I even get to be a part of them. And playing with Rhys is so cool, he’s so awesome. He just did this epic podcast and wore our shirt on it; he’s like our buddy. So I’m just pumped to have him back in town.

Ana: Yeah, well I was gonna ask, since you’re Canadian and he’s from the UK, and he’s also so young! So I was wondering how you guys even met and how did that bond between you two form?

Nico: I DMed him on Instagram. I’ve been a fan of his for a while, but he was posting these videos and I saw that he was in town so I was like “Hey bud, I’m hosting this jam session- come play some blues if you want!” I just happened to be hosting a Friend’s Jam that week. Shout out to the Friend’s Jam! And he came and he just ripped it! I have been a fan of his since before I lived in Austin, and so it was kinda serendipitous to have met him here. Now, he’s come back since, and we just have so much fun together, and we’ve become great friends. We’re very like-minded people, and it’s not just me and him, but him and how the city rolls. He gets it, he’s like one of us, so it’s cool to have him come back. We’re releasing a song with him tomorrow (July 18th), actually! We’re releasing this whole thing with a song with Rhys and two with Lindsay [Beaver], and then there’s like a Venn diagram cross-over where we all come together.

Ana: A huge collab! That’s awesome! Well, you were just talking about how Austin is such a blooming city when it comes to music. I know you haven’t been here that long, right?

Nico: No, I got here in 2023. So it’s only been two and a half years now, because 2025 is going by quick!

Ana: Gosh, it’s been flying by! It’s actually crazy! So why did you ultimately make the move to Austin? 

Nico: Yeah, so I like the blues right, so I needed somewhere because I needed to play. I was not very good when I came here, arguably still not good when you look online. If you ask the right people, they’ll say, “He’s still very bad!” But I was like, I just wanna play as much as I can, and Austin was that place. I’m a very big Gary Clark Jr. fan, and I watched that movie Chef with my buddy, and he was moving here. Then there’s that scene where they go to Austin and Gary’s playing, then they’re eating Franklin’s BBQ. Now that I live here, that's really cheesy to think that, but when I watched it, I was like, “Dude looks so awesome!” And yeah, now I’m here!

Photo by Ramon Mejia

Ana: Yeah! How has Austin been treating you?

Nico: Yeah, it’s been good. I'm very fortunate to be doing music right, professionally. To be doing cool events like the Long Center show is where it kind of really solidified to me that this is like a really awesome city. And this doesn't happen anywhere else, you know, the city's just been so nice. I never dreamed of playing, Antone's or doing any of those things. So it's really cool, but it's also like peanuts compared to, I guess, what a lot of other people do. So it's like hard to explain, I'm just happy to be involved in the city. I don't think I would've been this person back home. So it's kind of cool.I feel like Austin helped like make me the man that I am now, as cliche as that sounds.

Ana: No, Austin does have that effect on people. So you mentioned playing at Antone's, and last month you just released last your live album, Another Saturday in Austin, Live From Antone's. How freaking cool is that? 

Nico: Yeah, that was really cool. That was really fun, I was really excited to do that. I just can't believe that I got to do that, you know, not everyone gets to do that. So I was like, this is special for me. It felt special. It's just such an honor to even play there. And I went to the 50th anniversary birthday like two days ago, and like my buddy Lindsay Beaver was playing, she’s another Canadian, and I was like watching her up there with all these people that I had known before I moved to Austin, and I felt like a part of the community. You know, legends do this, and it was just like, wow, this is awesome that I have a record from this, in this community of people. So it's, you know, it was kinda like a pinch me moment. 

Ana: Yeah, and I took a listen. It sounds amazing. I mean, you guys absolutely killed it.

Nico: I appreciate that. 

Ana: I love that venue, you know, I feel like Antone’s is one of the very few venues that you can get such an intimate, awesome show, and you feel it both as the audience and I bet also like the artist. 

Nico: Yeah, absolutely. It's a really cool spot. So I’m just like “yeah, yippie!”

Ana: For sure! So I know that the name for the live album is pretty self-explanatory. You know, Another Saturday in Austin, Live From Antone’s, but I look at the word “another” and I'm just thinking like, is there anything else in between the lines? Is that how every night in Austin goes for you? Just fun and music. 

Nico: Yeah. That was kind of the reason we named it that, was because I still do play every Monday and Saturday that I'm in town. If I'm in town, like I'm playing Monday and Saturday, and so that was just another Saturday. You know, so we play every Saturday, but that was just a really good one. That was a really special one. We actually didn't change our set list from what we normally do, so it felt super authentic to how we sound right now. And so I was like, we’ll just  name it that. And also John Mayer has an album called Any Given Thursday, and I really liked the thought of like, you know, it being any given Thursday in John Mayer's life when he released that album. They were touring and he was such a sensation to me at the time and that live record is obviously so amazing for anyone who's listened to it. I really liked that sentiment, so I was like, I'll try kind of doing that too. 

Ana: That's awesome. So you're, you're talking a lot about John Mayer. Is he, would you say, one of your inspirations now or when you started? Who would be an artist that you think inspired you to start making music, and then somebody who you think is inspiring you now, to continue making music now?

Nico: So John Mayer's definitely more on the starting side. He was like my gateway drug into the blues. I just really, really liked John Mayer as a songwriter. So John is really awesome. I just think he's really good. I don't know him personally, I don't know why I just called him John.. 

Ana: Oh yeah, my buddy John! Yeah!

Nico: Yeah, John! He's just, he's really, really good. I think he's great. He's probably not psychedelic enough for me these days. That's why I don't listen to him as much. I'm super into psychedelic blues right now. And just- I mean that’s not true. If John Mayer released a new record tomorrow, I'd listen to it instantly. But I'd say right now, a lot of the Austin artists are probably more of my inspiration. So I've been niche-fied by the city, which is really cool because someone like John Mayer is a great artist, but like there's 100 people that John Mayer steals from on every record, and that's a good thing. I think that's how you learn from those people, I'm more like in that layer now. So for the current influences, there's just so many. Obviously Gary Clark Jr. is a huge influence of mine always. And I’ve been listening to a lot of Louisiana Surf Department's music these days. I think that that's a band that is just sick. Billy Strings is probably my biggest influence, like sonically, I really want my music to feel like his music. It doesn't right now, but if I could one day it would be great if it sounds kind of like that. 

Ana: That’s awesome! So, growing up, was music always what you felt like you were meant to do? Or did you kind of stumble upon it? How did that begin for you? 

Nico: When I was 17 or 18, I picked up the guitar for the first time, and now I'm 25. So, I was a bit late. I was very late in life on that. And I think that that's, you know, 

Ana: Wow! It's amazing how far you've come since that's crazy. It's crazy that you just picked it up not long ago. 

Nico: Yeah, it's stupid! Basically, if COVID didn't happen, I don't think I would've been doing this. That’s when I got to sit down and write and produce music in my bedroom so much. So I just like kind of dove headfirst into it. And then I moved here after college. I was like, okay, I got a degree. And I was like, I'm gonna go pursue music. And I would say since I moved here, it's become different. I was like, I shouldn't have moved here with the talent level I had, I was not good enough to move to another city to pursue music. But now I think it paid off. We're in stride now. So it's better. But yeah, it is crazy. I can't believe it. I love it so much, I've always loved music. Like I wish I had played instruments before, but I don't think I had the courage to. And then one thing led to another, I think I was trying to impress a girl or something, and now I’m here.

Ana: And thanks to that girl, here we are. So as we're wrapping things up here, feel free to use our platform to announce any upcoming shows, releases, or any fun stuff that you're gonna be doing soon. 

Nico: Thanks! Tomorrow we're releasing Emberoma Sessions. Then we have a show at Mozart’s with Rhys on the 26th. It's the Mozart’s Relief Show, I'm really excited about that show. We also have new songs coming out, we have a whole actual record that we're slowly gonna start releasing songs from, and I haven't told anyone that publicly, so there you go.

Ana: Oh, this is amazing, we get a little something special.

Nico: Yeah! And then we're back at Antone's in August for a blues night with Lindsay Beaver and her friend Xavier, who's a kick ass guitar player. So that’s gonna be a really fun night. 

Ana: This is awesome. It's great to look forward to that. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. We’re super excited to keep following your success. I’ll let you go now! Have a good one, bye!

Nico: Yeah, of course, you too, bye!

Listen to Another Saturday in Austin, Live From Antone's on Spotify and Apple Music