When we talked to Ben Nichols about his solo record In The Heart Of The Mountain back in the summer of 2025, he wicked out loud about being able to bring the full lineup that played on the record – Cory Branan on electric guitar, Todd Beene on electric and pedal steel, MorganEve Swain on violin and backing vocals – out on a proper tour some time in the future. We here at DS are no strangers to seeing Nichols solo, but it’s usually in a whiskey-soaked solo performance at the inimitable Crossroads in Garwood, New Jersey. It certainly took long enough, but August 2026 finally brought that aforementioned full-band performance on a proper Northeast tour, and the most Boston-area of the tour’s stops took place at Deep Cuts in Medford, an up-and-coming venue that’s quickly carved out a name for itself as one of the area’s premier small (<250 cap) venues. (The attached pinball arcade and record shop certainly don’t hurt.)
This leg of the tour also featured a very familiar face as its opener; none other than Cory Branan. Backed by only his trusty Martin acoustic or a pretty sweet Nash Guitars JM-63 and a mothership’s worth of effect pedals, Branan kicked things off with the first track from his forthcoming full-length, You’ll Live. The track also appeared on Branan’s self-released Covid-era classic Quarantunes: Now That’s What I Call Isolation VOL. 2 and served as a sort of a test balloon for the singer-songwriter. He’d been knocked down a few pegs by a sinus infection for the better part of this week, but the punked-up, 45-second burst that is “Teeny Says” showed that he was back in prime fighting form. From there, it was off and running for a 45-minute set that included a handful from his last record, When I Go I Ghost, especially “When I Leave Here” and the murder ballad “Pocket Of God” both of which tend to find Branan channeling a sort of inner anger that belies the bulk of the rest of his work. Arguably his two biggest hits, Mutt staples “Survivor Blues” and “The Corner” made appearances, as did “Yesterday (Circa Summer 80 Somethin)” and “The Freefall,” a pair of songs that I’ve always thought were the prologue and epilogue to a story of young love. The set closed out with another audience request from Mutt, this time “Hold Me Down,” which is a song that I’m not sure I’ve ever heard Branan play despite having caught him nearly two dozen times over the years. It was a particularly weighty version too, which might have made yours truly realize how dusty it was inside Deep Cuts on that particular Sunday night. Wouldn’t be the last time that’d happen.
Upon the conclusion of Branan’s solo opening set, all he had to do was maneuver his battleship to the left rear of the stage and swap out the Martin for a Stratocaster, and then it was time for Nichols and Swain and Beene to join him. The quartet kicked things off with “The Last Pale Light In The West” and “The Kid” from Nichols’ 2009 Cormac McCarthy-inspired solo album The Last Pale Light In The West. The TLPLITW songs shine in this particular four-piece format, as they should: Beene played pedal steel on the album versions, and Swain’s violin playing adds a haunting, forlorn quality that’s true to the source material. From there, it was into In The Heart Of The Mountain. The album was played in order, and the live versions don’t stray too much from their recorded versions, though there were ample occasions on which Nichols let his extremely talented crew take their individual moments to musically shine. Nichols made frequent mention of how appreciative he was to have Beene, Swain and Branan supporting him both in the studio and on the road, bringing life to his songs. After the scripted, album-related portion of the set, things loosened up a bit, as they’re wont to do at a Nichols/Lucero show. There was a trio of songs related to movies that Nichols’ younger brother Jeff has put out, “Loving,” “Bikeriders,” and an impromptu version of “Shelter” (from Jeff Nichols’ 2011 film Take Shelter) that was not only unrehearsed but that none of Nichols’ formidable backing band had ever so much attempted in any format before. Last Pale Light tracks “Chambers” and an incredibly haunting version of “Toadvine” made appearances, as did a handful of Lucero tracks, most notably the audience-request “Old Sad Songs,” which originally appeared on Lucero’s 2002 classic Tennessee and which Branan, I think, originally played on? Maybe? “Texas & Tennesee” and “Nights Like These” roudned out the set in traditional, full-throated singalong fashion.
As someone who has seen either Lucero as a band or Nichols solo many dozens of times over the years, it’s a real treat to see these songs – both solo and band originals – in this particular format. Swain and Beene and Branan are each uniquely talented, and watching the interplay between them, knowing when and how to both bring their own chops to the forefornt and to create space for the others to bob and weave, all behind Nichols’ generationally-talented songwriting is pretty special (especially when it takes place a few steps from my day job). Now lets get to work on the new Lucero record!
Enjoy a bunch more pics below!
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