I generally consider myself a pretty well-rounded listener. That is, until I meet another musician who will quickly remind me of how little I’ve heard once we begin to dive into each other’s catalogues. It’s one of the things I love about touring. You get to spend hours in a car with fellow musicians picking through their personal favorites and passing the DJ hat around. Such was the case this past month while out on tour with my dear friend and fellow songwriter Peter Mulvey for our latest project together, Floyd Mercantile. Here are some of my favorites from the journey.
Kiki Cavazos: Goodbye Blues. Kiki’s been on my radar for a while now, and her most recent album is a gem of raw performances and stellar lyricism. It’s simplicity at is finest. “Hawthorne and Heartache” is a diamond of a song, and “Grey Ghost Train” is a masterpiece that seems like it was pulled from the Earth a hundred years ago.
Theo Lawrence: Pickin’ and Singin’. I heard this album for the first time on another long car ride, and I loved it so much that I pulled over to immediately send a message to Theo and his cowriter, Phil Hollie, telling them how great the songwriting is on this record. Every track is a win and the performances are top notch.
Paul Simon: Surprise. While not as big of a commercial hit as Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints were, Surprise is an unbelievably good record. (Of course it is, it’s Paul Simon.) “How Can You Live in the Northeast” is a triumph of a track that sets one up quite nicely for an odyssey of melody and lyric that only Paul can provide.
Nick Lowe: Walkabout. I adore every track on this record. It’s 37 minutes of cool. “Tokyo Bay” and “Love Starvation” are on my all-time favorites list.
Singer-songwriter Jenna Nicholls is a solo artist and a member of the duo Floyd Mercantile. She lives in the Hudson Valley. She will perform at the Colony in Woodstock on August 16 for the “Democracy Rocks 2” benefit concert. Her album The Commuter was reviewed in the January 2026 issue of Chronogram.
This article appears in August 2026.
