Young and Rusty

Anderson Fair presents Young and Rusty.

Young and Rusty is a Folk and Americana duo from Austin, Texas. Sue Young’s pure voice and Rusty Nelson’s rough edged vocals combine in a perfect blend. The songs and sound on their debut recording Back Road Love evoke a simpler time; cruising down a country road, wading in a cool creek, or taking a ferry boat ride across the Mississippi.

Sue Young’s voice has been called “angelic” and “powerful medicine”. Growing up in a musical family, Sue cut her teeth on Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Judy Collins. Along with a pristine voice and perfect pitch, Sue developed a distinctive finger picking style. The combination got her steady work at clubs and restaurants in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

In 1985, Sue moved to Austin and turned her attention to writing songs. Her efforts were rewarded and she became a four time Kerrville New Folk Finalist. During this time, Sue started writing inspirational songs and singing in churches throughout Texas. She also began teaching music and Spanish to kids, which led to a vibrant career as a children’s entertainer and landed her on the Texas Commission On The Arts Artist Roster. Her latest CD “Gliding” returns to her folk roots and earned her a 2013 Texas Music Awards Nomination for Female Vocalist Of The Year.

Rusty Nelson grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana and in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1989, he was minding his own business working in the advertising business in Austin when he started writing songs. A year later, Rusty signed a writing deal with a Texas based publisher that had connections to Nashville. In 1996 he took the plunge and moved to Nashville. In 2002, he returned to Austin, feeling pretty much done with music. Rusty got his life back through an intense yoga practice and study of the Gurdjieff Work.

In 2009, Rusty approached Sue after one of her church performances. With a lyric in hand, he asked Sue if she might be interested in a song that he had started. Not long after that meeting, Sue and Rusty teamed up to write together and the results were magical. Soon they were performing together, bringing their unique songs and chemistry to the stage.