Nick Jonas – “The Texas Boy” – Music of Texas (Spring 2023)

Nick Jonas, solo musical artist and previous band member of The Jonas Brothers, is not typically what we think of when we think of Texan musicians. However, during my research on Nick Jonas, I actually discovered that his ties to Texan cities such as Dallas and Fort Worth have remained strong and intact throughout his booming career as a singer. Even today, Nick Jonas states that he still considers himself “a Texas boy”.

Background

Nick Jonas was born in Fort Worth, TX in 1992. One thing that I found surprising is that although Nick did spend most of his childhood with his two brothers Joe and Kevin, he was the only Jonas son to actually be born in the state of Texas. Nick’s father was a musical minister at a college in Dallas, TX for a short while after Nick was born. The family then moved to New Jersey for a few years where Nick’s father worked once more as a musical minister before reuniting with the rest of the Jonas brothers back in Dallas again.

Because of Nick’s father and his background in religion and music, Nick grew up with a strong musical background, and began performing in plays and recording music casually at the young age of 10.

In 2008, just before the Jonas Brothers set off on their “Burning Up” album tour, they purchased a $2.8 million ranch in a suburb of Fort Worth, TX. This huge home was more specifically located in the Vaquero Club community in Westlake, TX. This was a strong connection to Texas that I felt important to include because of all of the Texan history surrounding ranches that we discussed in our early classes this semester, and the fact that their ranch was located in a Vaquero club community: a vocabulary word we have studied extensively as a part of this class.

This video clip shoes the Jonas Brother’s Texas ranch, and gives a little bit of background to their Texan roots. Here, we see Nick Jonas hanging out with his favorite baseball team: the Texas Rangers. We also see the brothers spending time with their Texan relatives, which they express as being very important to them.

(Please start this video at 7:45 so you don’t have to watch the whole thing!)

Nick Jonas’ Take Off as a Solo Artist

Shortly after the purchase of this estate in Dallas, Nick Jonas released a side project called “The Administration”, which was a series of songs that channeled a new voice for the young artist. These songs contained many blues, R&B, and soul funk influences and, as Nick states, helped him find his musical identity as a solo artist. In the following clip, Nick Jonas reflects on this side project in the segment between 19:48 min – 20:28 min (again, no need to watch the entire video!)

Out of all of the songs on “The Administration” album, two songs stuck out to me in terms of sounding “Texan”. The first song, “State of Emergency” has that soulful funk that I think of when I think of that jazzy blues songs we have listened to in class over this semester. I also think his singing tone in this song is characteristic of some blues music, where he drags his notes either up or down when he sings.

The second song off this album I chose to highlight is called “Conspiracy Theory”. This song channeled more of the rock and roll and R&B side of Texan music. Right around 0:44 min in the clip below, you can see Nick Jonas slide his hand up the neck of his guitar, which we have seen other Texan artists do in various blues and rock musical pieces. I believe Nick Jonas created a unique sound for himself as an artist while also pulling from his Texan roots as an influence.

Nick Jonas has since grown into a heavily nominated singer/songwriter, and is still performing all around the world.

Nick Jonas’ relationship with Texas

Although Nick has come a long way since his small-town life in Fort Worth, TX, he still keeps his Texan ties close to his heart. In a recent interview with Nick Jonas, he discusses the moment he knew that his life was changed forever as a musician. The moment he describes that he felt a shift from ordinary life to fame occurred in non other than Dallas, TX at the Texas State Fair. Skip to 26:52 min to hear him speak about this!

Since that moment, Nick Jonas and his brothers have live all over. Nick Jonas resides currently in Los Angeles, but he still has relatives in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. He told recent reporters, “I’m excited to get back to Dallas, visit friends, eat some Woodshed Smokehouse barbecue and go to the Cowboys-Giants game at AT&T Stadium”.

Nick and his brother Joe at a Texas Rodeo in 2012

Texas is still very much home to this popular musical artist, as we can see referenced on his Twitter page below where Nick Jonas states “You can take the boy out of Texas… but you can’t make him take off his cowboy hat”.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised to learn how much Nick Jonas and his brothers keep in touch with their Texan roots, and how they still consider the state of Texas their home. Nick Jonas has a unique singing style that, in my opinion, has a lot of Texan influences even to this day.