Chattanoogapulse.com-For Chattanooga songwriter Nic Bevins, the love he feels for music is inseparable from the love he feels for his grandfather.
“He’s the reason I play music and write songs,” Bevins said of a childhood filled with country, bluegrass and gospel classics.
“He always wanted me to play music, but I was more into baseball.” Bevins was born and raised in the small town of Loudon, about 40 miles southwest of Knoxville. He moved to Chattanooga to play baseball while pursuing a degree in health and physical education.
But then a global pandemic happened and left him with a lot of lonely time to fill. “I decided to teach myself to play guitar, at least to the point where I could play the G,C and D chords.”
Bevins learned quickly and found an unexpected mentor in local legend Roger Alan Wade. “My mom worked with his daughter,” Bevins said of their introduction. Soon they were performing together at venues like the Cherry Street Tavern and Barrelhouse Ballroom. “Everything I learned was pretty much from him.”
When Bevins returned home to Loudon, he had a gift waiting. “My grandpa heard about me picking with Roger, and I walked in and found this guitar case.” Inside was a gorgeous Martin Special his grandfather had bought from a friend. “He told me if I was going to play guitar, I’d need a guitar. I almost cried right there.”
That moment inspired him to write a song called ‘This Old Martin.’ He’s also written about his late grandmother and her love of lighthouses. While those songs deal with heavy emotional subjects, he also enjoys writing lighter fare like a new song with the self-explanatory title of ‘If You Don’t Like Willie, I Don’t Like You.’
At age 22 Nic Bevins still has a lot ahead of him. He’s closing in on his degree from UTC and has yet to record an album of his songs. “Music is something that started around a campfire, so I never thought I’d get this far.”
While Bevins continues booking shows in Chattanooga, he thinks it’s unlikely his grandfather will get the chance to see one. “He’s old and struggles getting around now, but when I get back home I’ll sit around and play for him.”