Nelson on the big stage

Chris Nelson, a local hometown hero from Sampson County, was recently honored for his musical talent at the 2023 Carolina Country Music Awards, winning Country Music Video of the Year.

Nelson and his band attended the CCMAs in North Myrtle Beach this past Saturday, where they got the nod for Country Music Video of the Year for the hit song, ‘Working Man Heroes.’ Nelson wrote the song and dedicated it not only to his father, but to all working class people who hit the grindstone daily. He came back to Clinton this week to play to a members-only crowd of the Sampson Arts Council.

In the winning music video, his father is featured throughout showing the daily life of a working class hero. A garage door opens revealing his dad standing in front of the heavy wrecker he’s driven Nelson’s whole life to support his family. The video continues showcasing a day in the life of his dad, much like that of any blue collar worker. Then it ends the same way it began, the garage door closing, his dad standing there again after completing another hard day’s work.

“It’s more than just a song and a video at this point,” Nelson said, in an article from Tabor-Loris Tribune. “It’s a family heirloom to us.”

With such an endearing song and video that speaks to the hearts of many people much like Nelson’s father it’s not hard to see why he won. Giving him the award was obvious to his peers but Nelson himself attended the ceremony expecting the opposite.

“To be honest, I went into the Country Music Awards not really expecting to win anything,” he said. “It was my first year being a part of the association and we got there and it just happened. All I can say is it was wild”

”I mean, most of these artists that are part of this thing, even some of the artists that were in the Music Video of the Year category have music videos on CMT (County Music Television).”

It would be in December that Nelson and his band found out they snagged nominations for Emerging New Artist and Music Video of the Year. They’d fall just short of Emerging New Artist to a group call Kindred, but earned the video accolade.

So what was the moment like when Nelson came on stage to claim his prize?

“When we showed up, in my head I was like ‘well, we’re not really gonna win anything,’” he said. “For us, it was just a big deal to be in the same room with so many great independent artists from all over.”

“Whenever they announced music videos of the year, people backstage were tapping me to be ready to go on stage and I was confused,” Nelson said. “So I walked to the edge of the stage and I looked at Sweet Tea, she’s the radio personality that was hosting the event. She looked at me and waves for me to come on stage and I heard our song playing. So I was immediately like — ‘Oh God, I won something.’”

He was so surprised in that moment that he couldn’t find the words for his acceptance speech.

“When I got up there and they handed me the mic, I didn’t know what to say,” he said. “That’s not a joke either, I literally said that. I honestly didn’t know what to say and that gave everybody a good laugh, but it was great.”

While winning the award was like a dream for Nelson, it was the fact that he was able to pay homage to his dad through the song that meant the most to him.

“My dad was sitting in the VIP section when I finally got my award,” Nelson said. “After I got the trophy I pushed my way through the crowd, walked up to my dad and handed it to him. Even during my performance at the CCMA I pointed out to him, doing this all for him, it was just a big deal.”

When Nelson handed the trophy to his father he told the Tabor-Loris Tribune he said this to him: “I said ‘here’s a paper weight for your desk,’” Nelson said. “I think it meant the world to him, definitely.”

Before his days as an award-winning musician, Nelson was born and raised in Clinton where he discovered his love for music. A Clinton High graduate of the Class of 2012, he was an avid lover and member of the band, playing clarinet and saxophone. He then attended the University of North Carolina at Pembroke until 2016, pursing music and jazz and even spent time as a music educator.

Nelson now resides in Loris, NC, working full-time in landscaping while still traveling and playing as much as possible with bandmates Nicholas Vernon, John Nowiski, Nate Shipp and Stephanie Sullivan. Nelson brings to the band a unique sound that blends country and jazz as Nelson steadily plays the sax from his old band days.

It is a sound Nelson told the Tabor-Loris Tribune he plans to reinvent in the county music scene.

“I’m bringing the sax into country music in a way that hasn’t been done before,” Nelson said.

Nelson and his band have have already made strides towards that goal, putting out two new songs “Color Inside of My World” and “59 Years, Almost 60,” while they continue planning new music and performances.

To find more information on the band, their music or performance locales visit Nelson’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/ChristopherNelsonMusic