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{{Short description|American folk-rock band}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
'''The Nields''' is a folk-rock band that started in 1991. As a five-piece band, they toured much of the United States, performing with artists such as [[Dar Williams]], [[Moxy Früvous]], [[10,000 Maniacs]], [[Ani DiFranco]] and [[Catie Curtis]] and appeared at many folk festivals. Two members, Katryna and Nerissa Nields, continue to tour as a folk duo. Full band performances still occur from time to time.

==History of the band==

The first incarnation of what would later become the Nields came together in 1987 in [[McLean, Virginia]], when Nerissa Nields met David Jones, and started a band with Nerissa's sister Katryna.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.houstonpress.com/music/let-it-rock-6571513|title=Let It Rock|last=Rowland|first=Hobart|date=1996-06-13|work=Houston Press|access-date=2017-06-22}}</ref>

In 1991, Katryna had graduated from [[Trinity College (Connecticut)|Trinity College]] in Connecticut, and Nerissa had graduated from [[Yale University]].<ref name=":1" /> Nerissa married David, who was now known as David Nields, having taken her surname.<ref name=":1" />
By now, the threesome was performing together as the Nields, with Katryna as the lead singer, Nerissa playing rhythm guitar and singing harmony, and David Nields on lead guitar. In 1992, the three of them moved to Connecticut, where David had accepted a job at the [[Loomis Chaffee School]], and the band recorded its first album, the self-released ''66 Hoxsey Street'', named for a house in Williamstown where they had lived.<ref name=":1" /> The band began to tour New England in earnest, earning a reputation in the regional folk music scene.<ref name=":1" /> In 1993, they released a live album titled ''Live at the [[Iron Horse Music Hall]]'', recorded at the popular folk club in Northampton, Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/06/18/rich-folk-singing-from-nields-curtis/761de518-2502-46f0-98e7-ddcd455d1a66/|title=RICH FOLK SINGING FROM NIELDS, CURTIS|last=Himes|first=Geoffrey|date=1993-06-18|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2017-06-22|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

In 1994 the band grew from a three-piece folk group to a five-piece rock band. The new members were Dave Chalfant ([[Bass (guitar)|bass]]), whom Katryna had met in college, and Dave Hower ([[drums]]), a friend of Chalfant's.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/nields-020511/|title=Nerissa and Katryna Nields|last=Rauch|first=Stephen|date=May 29, 2002|work=PopMatters|access-date=2017-06-22}}</ref> Chalfant also produced the band's album released that year, ''Bob on the Ceiling''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/bob-on-the-ceiling-mw0000182906|title=Bob on the Ceiling - The Nields {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Alter|first=Ethan|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-06-22}}</ref> This album featured a mix of the acoustic material that the Nields had previously specialized in and a more rock-oriented sound that would become their trademark. With their new sound, the Nields received critical acclaim, and quit their day jobs to become full-time musicians.

Their 1995 EP ''Abigail'', named for Katryna and Nerissa's sister, was self-released, followed by ''Gotta Get Over Greta'' in 1996 on the independent [[Razor & Tie]] record label.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rQkEAAAAMBAJ&q=nields&pg=PA60|title=Newsmakers: The Nields Sign On|date=June 8, 1996|magazine=Billboard|access-date=June 22, 2017|page=60}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/gotta-get-over-greta-mw0000184044|title=Gotta Get over Greta - The Nields {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Gottlieb|first=Bob|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-06-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/02/16/nields-on-the-rise-curtis-holds-steady/ee3c520c-1bff-4619-aea3-f12724fb6477/|title=NIELDS ON THE RISE, CURTIS HOLDS STEADY|last=Himes|first=Geoffrey|date=1996-02-16|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2017-06-22|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The album was re-released in 1997 with three bonus tracks on Guardian, a division of [[Elektra Records]].

Unfortunately, the group suffered a number of setbacks the next year. Guardian folded, leaving them without a record label, and their tour van was growing increasingly unreliable. The band self-released an album called ''Mousse'' (the nickname for Dave Chalfant's sister Andromache)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/mousse-mw0000951948|title='Mousse - The Nields {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Alter|first=Ethan|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-06-22}}</ref> and held a special fundraising concert entitled "Jam for the Van." As a result, the Nields were able to purchase a new van, and were also able to secure a new label, Zoë, a division of [[Rounder Records]]. Over the next three years, the Nields released two more records (''Play''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/play-mw0000600708|title=Play - The Nields {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|last=Koda|first=Cub|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-06-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-689420.html|title=THE NIELDS "Play" Zoe; TRISH MURPHY "Crooked Mile" Rhythmic|last=Himes|first=Geoffrey|date=November 13, 1998|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=June 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118103851/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-689420.html|archive-date=2018-11-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''If You Lived Here You'd Be Home Now''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/if-you-lived-here-youd-be-home-now-mw0000605572|title=If You Lived Here You'd Be Home Now - The Nields {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|last=Ruhlmann|first=William|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-06-22}}</ref>), and in 1999 Katryna Nields and Dave Chalfant got married.

Although the band enjoyed a moderate degree of success, they ceased touring as a five-piece in 2001. Their final recording with David Nields was a two-disc album titled ''Live From Northampton.'' Like their 1993 album, it was recorded at the [[Iron Horse Music Hall]], and was self-released by the band. In 2002, David and Nerissa Nields were divorced.

==Katryna and Nerissa Nields as a duo==

In 1998, Katryna and Nerissa were invited to play [[Lilith Fair]] as a duo. The performances were successful, and the two sisters performed several more shows together in areas where the full band had not previously been able to tour. Dar Williams dubbed this the "probe effect," a reference to [[Star Trek]]'s Enterprise sending a probe to unexplored areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nerissanields.com/windows-of-opportunity-nields-history-5/|title=Windows of Opportunity: Nields History #5|date=7 June 2011 |access-date=18 October 2017|quote=Dar called this the Probe effect, which made sense to viewers of Star Trek: The Next Generation.}}</ref>

By 2001, shows by the full band were increasingly rare, as Katryna and Nerissa toured mostly by themselves. In mid-2001, Katryna took some time off to have a baby, Amelia.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBQEAAAAMBAJ&q=nields&pg=PA81|title=Lifelines: Births|date=June 9, 2001|magazine=Billboard|access-date=June 22, 2017}}</ref> Afterwards, she and Nerissa recorded their first album as a duo, titled ''Love and China'',<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SBAEAAAAMBAJ&q=nields&pg=PA35-IA1|title=Reviews & Previews: Pop|date=March 9, 2002|magazine=Billboard|access-date=June 22, 2017|page=24A}}</ref> followed by an EP of children's songs, ''Songs for Amelia''. In 2004, they released their second full album, ''This Town is Wrong''. In 2005, Nerissa's young adult novel, ''Plastic Angel'', was published by [[Scholastic Books]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nerissa-nields/plastic-angel/|title=PLASTIC ANGEL by Nerissa Nields|date=May 15, 2005|work=Kirkus Reviews|access-date=June 22, 2017}}</ref> ''This Town Is Wrong'' was intended as a soundtrack to the novel, which came packaged with a CD containing the songs "This Town Is Wrong" and "Glow-In-The-Dark Plastic Angel" from the album.

==Current status==
[[File:NerissaNieldsSummerfest2005.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Nerissa Nields performing in 2005]]
Katryna and Nerissa live in the [[Pioneer Valley]] of Massachusetts and continue to make music and perform together. They have continued touring as a duo, although they have occasionally performed shows as a full band. In their 'full-band' shows, they are joined by Dave Hower on drums, Paul Kochanski on bass, and Dave Chalfant on guitar. In July 2007, they released ''Sister Holler'', an ode to the folk canon. In August 2008 they released ''Rock All Day Rock All Night'', a double family album. In 2010, they made a family DVD called ''Organic Farm''. In 2012, their 16th CD ''The Full Catastrophe'' came out, reflecting their recent lives as artist/mothers and the challenges of living with the myth of "having it all." They released the album ''XVII'' in 2015 and a Christmas album, ''Joy to the World'' in 2017. The single, “Tyrants Always Fall” was also released in 2017.

In addition to making music, Nerissa has been teaching guitar, leading writing workshops, and working on a second novel, titled ''The Big Idea''. In May 2005, she married Tom Duffy, a writer. On May 3, 2006, Nerissa gave birth to her first child, Lila Mary Nields-Duffy. John Patrick Thomas Nields-Duffy followed on August 23, 2008.

In November 2004, Katryna gave birth to her second child, a son named William John Chalfant.

Katryna and Nerissa lead a popular children's singing class called Hootenanny, which draws new pre-school-aged fans to their already substantial grassroots following.

Dave Hower plays drums with a variety of bands, including [[Winterpills]], Spanish for Hitchhiking, and The Fucking Sparklies.

Dave Chalfant has opened a recording studio and produced albums by a number of artists. He was also a teacher of Instrumental Music at the [[Academy at Charlemont]] in [[Charlemont, Massachusetts]].

[https://www.davidnields.com/ David Nields] became the Theatre Director for the Imperial Centre of Arts and Sciences in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Currently, he teaches Theater at the college level.

==Discography==
* ''66 Hoxsey Street'' (1992, out of print)
* ''Live at the Iron Horse Music Hall'' (1993, out of print)
* ''Bob on the Ceiling'' (1994)
* Abigail (1995, EP)
* ''Gotta Get Over Greta'' (1996, re-release 1997)
* '''Mousse'' (1998)
* ''Play'' (1998)
* ''If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now'' (2000)
* ''Live From Northampton'' (2001)
* ''Love and China'' (2001, Katryna and Nerissa Nields)
* ''This Town is Wrong'' (2004, Katryna and Nerissa Nields)
* ''Songs for Amelia'' (2004, EP, Katryna and Nerissa Nields, children's album)
* ''All Together Singing In The Kitchen'' (2006, family album)
* ''Sister Holler'' (2007)
* ''Rock All Day/Rock All Night'' (2008, family album)
* ''Organic Farm'' (2010, live DVD)
* ''The Full Catastrophe'' (2012)
* ''XVII'' (2015)
* ''Joy to the World'' (2017)
* ''November'' (2020)
* ''Circle of Days'' (2023)

==Bibliography==
* Nields, Nerissa (2005). ''Plastic Angel''. New York (Scholastic Books). {{ISBN|0-439-70913-X}}
* Nields, Nerissa (2008). ''How To Be an Adult''. (Mercy House). {{ISBN|0-9770454-6-3}}
* Nields, Nerissa and Nields, Katryna (2011). ''All Together Singing in the Kitchen: Creative Ways to Make and Listen to Music as a Family'' (Shambhala/Roost Books). {{ISBN|978-1-59030-898-1}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nields.com Official homepage of the Nields]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nields, The}}
[[Category:Fast Folk artists]]
[[Category:American folk rock groups]]
[[Category:Madeira School alumni]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1987]]
[[Category:Zoë Records artists]]
[[Category:1987 establishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Virginia]]

The Nields - Revision history

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