Todd Jones-Jones and Mike Nicholson of the Blusterfields stopped by Live & Local last week, following the release of their new album “Thoughts and Prayers.”
Visit TheBlusterfields.com.
“I’m pretty used to making protest songs,” Jones-Jones says of the new album (the band’s fifth in just four years), whose eleven tracks are upbeat and fun but also full of biting social commentary for 2026. “Mike wanted me to tone that down (in past years) as we pursued kind of a pure power pop aesthetic – but I’ve been sneaking in some social commentary on our previous records, and given where we are, I really wanted to make this an album full of protest songs.”
“Didn’t take a lot of arm twisting,” Nicholson adds with a laugh. “We’re both frustrated with the way things are going.”
Consequently, “Thoughts and Prayers” is a fitting and worthy addition to the outpouring of protest music that’s emerged from the Triangle since the start of the second Trump administration, as artists grapple with the present state of affairs – and sound the call to push back and act for change. You get both from the Blusterfields, from the acidic lead single “Here Come The Idiots” (“Here they come, blind deaf and dumb”) to the more forward-looking album opener “Any More” (“I’m feeling angry but not hopeless”) – all with the signature high-energy power-pop/punk sound that’s defined the Blusterfields since Nicholson and Jones-Jones first joined forces five years ago.
Listen to “Thoughts and Prayers” and purchase the album on Bandcamp.
“We knew of each other through various bands, and we’d played some tribute shows together at Cat’s Cradle,” says Jones-Jones of the Blusterfields’ COVID-era origin. “And I was looking to get more musical entanglements going, because I was kind of in between bands. So I went to Craigslist…and I saw Mike’s listing, not knowing it was Mike – he was looking for vocalists – so we got together, Mike played me a bunch of (his) material that was in search of lyrics and a melody. And I just was instantly enamored by it all – and I went home and recorded some vocals and sent it to him. And apparently he was not offended by it.”
Nicholson and Jones-Jones each have stellar musical pedigrees that go back several decades: Jones-Jones with the seminal 1980s band the X-Teens, Nicholson with 21st-century Triangle stalwarts Stratocruiser and Arrow Beach. The duo quickly added drummer Chris Russell, bassist Scott Warren, and keyboardist/guitarist William Fox – and the Blusterfields (with a name originally conceived by fellow local music legend Jeff Hart) was born.
“I think of it as like a last name that was assigned to some vaguely royal British person, who’s falling on hard times but still wants to hold onto their social standing,” Nicholson laughs. “Lord Earl Blusterfield of Shelton or something.”
Follow The Blusterfields on Instagram.
Now that the album is out, the Blusterfields are planning to celebrate with live shows later this summer – including one at Slim’s in Raleigh on Saturday, August 29.
Todd Jones-Jones and Mike Nicholson stopped by Live & Local to discuss “Thoughts and Prayers” and play three tracks: “Here Come the Idiots,” “Big Celebration,” and “Mr. Secretary.” Listen:
No Mere ‘Thoughts and Prayers’: Live and Local with the Blusterfields! Chapelboro.com.
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