We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nico Fernandez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nico, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My biggest show to date was at the Chicago House of Vans in Chicago. I was gifted a ton of free Vans merch which was amazing haha. I’ve grown up wearing Vans my entire life, but really what was so special about that day was not simply meeting Chance the Rappers stylist haha which was amazing, but what changed my life that day forever was the feeling I got on stage. Having a thousand-plus people singing your own song back to you is an addiction I had never felt before or even knew existed. What was even more special to me is that the song that moved the crowd allowing me to receive that surreal experience was a song I had written about my grandmother and her passing that I played live for the first time the weekend of Mother’s Day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I graduated from University in the midst of the pandemic and had to finish the remainder of my senior year in Los Angeles where I grew up. Going through that during a portion of my life so crucial to my adulthood made me come to terms with mortality and the reality that I lost several people close to me and many of the friendships I had invested in due to forced isolation. I lost my uncle and grandmother during this time and these experiences really kind of took the blinders of youth off and began my dive into understanding human emotion. So many people are hurting these days, without friends, without purpose, without meaningful relationships, stuck in relationships that are not the best for them. We live in a high-stress world and so many when overwhelmed fail to recognize their worth and take care of themselves properly. I say all of this because I believe I have found success as a musician because of this one impactful truth, this truth being that my job is to be an entertainer. Most musicians do not understand that. Many musicians like the praise that comes with fans and only want to be musicians in order to hear fans praising them when in reality it should be the other way around. Our job as musicians I believe is to for 2 hours out of someone’s week remove people from the problems they are dealing with. To help them cry, scream, yell, sing, and especially smile. The job is to give to them and to entertain them, to fill them with love and happiness and not to expect anything.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

People telling me that they feel healed or that they related to my narrative. I write a song for example about my grandmother passing one to carry on her life story but two so that people can heal the same way I am persuing healing. I love it when I play a breakup song and every person after the show comes up to me saying that what I had written was as if it were exactly about their ex haha. My greatest reward is taking my own truth which however isolating at the time is undoubtedly universal and then finding those people and allowing my song to connect to their truth even if hidden.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Every time I find myself at a venue large enough like the Novo or the Forum or the Troubadour, I cannot help but envision myself on stage. What is driving me is being on that stage. I am not confident by no means at a ton of things, but I am very confident in my ability to entertain others on stage. If I am on stage with my guitar I know the crowd will have a great time. I think that is what is so crucial finding something you are passionate about and then allowing that thing to give you an unwavering go-get-it kind of confidence.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjci5qTqd_-AhWfLUQIHRjZD6oQFnoECAkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fnicocomposes%2F&usg=AOvVaw3mWz1Rpcq_1u4OdzidmGCa
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nicofernmusic https://open.spotify.com/artist/4W4DSU0MWvyJjgH1vCtpxO?si=JDJqB_dkQwyI5Wplr6kheQ

Image Credits
Rachel Kupfer Joe Mangan