Intrepid singer-songwriter Nicole Springer beats the odds

Nicole Springer. // photo credit Scott Bosworth

Singer-songwriter Nicole Springer has been riding the crest of a new resurgence of live music venues, new material, a new band, and a newly recorded five-song EP.

She’s, to this point, lived a life of momentous personal defeats and pivotal triumphs. In the fall of 2021, Springer was invited to play on the Melissa Etheridge stage at Camp Leavenworth Festival. This was a wonderful validation to her and her fans. In fact, she first gained Etheridge’s attention via an Etheridge Cruise song competition. Springer’s song entry was a top ten finalist. Though, it didn’t make the final cut-down to the three finalists. Nonetheless, it seems Etheridge’s entourage kept a file of Nicole’s talent.

Springer recalls, “I was so bummed that [cruise song contest] didn’t work out, and then, literally almost a year to the day, I got the email asking to open [Camp Leavenworth]. So, I mean, you just keep going. You can’t give up because you get one note or one rejection. Like, yeah, it’s a disservice to your journey if you do that.”

Springer’s music style is unique and very stylized. She routinely belts out a song with melodic cascades, like the styles of Etheridge and Janis Joplin. A couple of her favorite singers. Nicole hammers out her vocals with a gospel blues range of high and low octaves and a rhythmic acoustic guitar sound.

New doors have recently opened for the songwriter. Her latest efforts have involved an exciting songwriting partnership and affiliations inside the Nashville industry. A recent contact, songwriter David Hill, and Nicole have collaborated on some new material.

“We’re going to pitch some songs together, too,” says Springer. “I’m trying every avenue I can. I’m planting seeds pretty much everywhere I can, with music, and I’m seeing what grows.”

Also, while in Nashville recently, Springer auditioned a handful of new songs. A Nashville Songwriters Association booking agent and manager complimented Nicole’s latest material, which comprised “Breakup Museum,” “Good Time,” and “Chase the Light.”

“She was blown away,” recalls Springer. “She was like, ‘Breakup Museum’ — I haven’t heard a song like that since 1995,’ since when she came to Nashville. So that’s huge. What a compliment. And she just was so encouraging. She said, ‘Don’t wait on Nashville,’ keep doing my thing. So, I am.”

It hasn’t been an easy journey for Springer to reach this latest pinnacle, as is the case for most passionate singer-songwriters, who all have a story to tell. Springer’s early years of pomp and circumstance were a collection of highs and devastating lows. From performing in pageants and singing on stage at an early age, with choirs and gospel solos, to State Music Awards for baritone sax competition in high school and on to college, music was a predominant force in Nicole’s life. Then came the devastation when she claims relatives abandoned her for being gay when she was 19.

Springer was then on her own for several years, stealing, surviving, and doing whatever it took to make it to the next day. Springer lost touch with her music, too. Eventually, a cousin took Springer in.

“My cousin kind of saved my life,” Springer remembers. “And she bought me a guitar on Christmas. I didn’t get to see my family, so she bought me a guitar. She was the only person in my family that really substantially helped me.”

Yet, it wasn’t a quick recovery for Springer. One other sad episode occurred.

“So, I did attempt to take my own life,” relates Springer. “That was kind of rock bottom, and I’m not ashamed to say any of this. This is the story, this is what happened. I was in the hospital for three days, got out and what do you know, I got that guitar out and I started writing again for the first time.”

That’s when Springer really started to write about her mental health, but she still wasn’t in a good place in her life so, for a year and a half, she didn’t perform because she’d lost touch with music.

“Having sung my whole entire life, it was a pretty big indication that my spirit was broken,” says Springer. “But there’s light at the end of this.”

Eventually, she would impressively return to songwriting, stating, “Like really writing. I never even really gotten to write like that in my whole life. So: really, writing for the first time.”

Springer’s life had finally, through a sense of internal strength, gained a resurgence with finding herself and telling her trials and tribulations in songwriting.

Springer then gained more confidence to play her material at public venues. With invites including an Uptown Theater event, The Plaza Art Fair, and all the while sorting through a few different band iterations and solo acts, Springer pursued her growing passion for writing and performing more original material. Like many other singer-songwriters, Springer had to pause performing live when the pandemic hit, but hopefully, now Springer’s in a prime position to seize the day with her songwriting.

“My aim is to lift people up,” Springer concludes. “It’s to connect with people. It’s to make people feel less alone. I mean, that’s what music has meant to me, like the music that kept me alive, with Janis Joplin, my favorite singer of all time. Like, I don’t know that I’d be here without some of that music. I don’t know that I’d be the person I am without some of those songs. Like, truly. And that’s how powerful music can be. So, when you have a platform, you have a voice. People want to hear. There’s a responsibility to sing the things that are going to move people and make the world a little brighter. You know, like that’s how I feel about it. But, yeah, that’s what I hope to achieve. I hope to move people. It’s so awesome!”

Nicole Springer will be performing as part of “Flowers from Hell” with Amanda Hughey and KuJo at the Warwick on Saturday, July 30. Details on that show here.