At night, Nate Venturelli takes the stage singing country songs like his local hit “Union Man,” a tribute to his grandfather, a late local United Steelworkers union president.
By day, Venturelli actually is a union man.
He works as a welder at NIPSCO. He’s a dues-paying member of the United Steelworkers union, belonging to USW Local 12775 in Porter.
“It’s tough,” he said. “I’m working a full-time job and playing shows on the weekend. I’m usually working six days a week.”
Venturelli was nominated for five national Josie Music Awards this year, including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Vocalist of the Year and Fan’s Choice. He won the JMA Entertainer of the Year Award at the famed Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, after winning the Rising Star of the Year Award last year.
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“It was really cool,” he said. “It was incredible. We didn’t expect to win and it was the very last category. It meant a lot. It feels like an honor just to be at the Grand Ole Opry.”
The DeMotte resident received the award while standing in the legendary Grand Ole Opry Circle.
“It’s such an oasis for country music. I’m nervous just being there,” he said. “It’s such an honor. I felt like a kid again. I got very nervous but it’s just a 30-second speech where you thank your team and wife.”
The Josie Music Awards recognize independent country music artists.
“It’s hard to be heard as an independent artist,” Venturelli said. “The labels don’t listen to the independent artists. It’s pretty cool to get some recognition.”
But he plans to stay independent because he wants to retain creative control.
“They would want the rights to my songs and the money that would come with that,” he said. “I never want to let them tell me what to do with my career or how my songs should be written. I can’t be fake. I’ve always got to be real.”
Venturelli has built up an audience without a label, reaching audiences on country music stations, through streaming services, on 42,000 AMI jukeboxes nationwide and playing many live shows. He’s performed in seven states, including Tennessee and Florida. He loves the energy in venues like Bub City and Old Crow in Chicago or Neon Cactus in Lafayette.
He’s working on releasing an album as well as singles like “That’s Life” and “Hard Hat.”
“‘Hard Hat’ gets requested a lot by blue-collar people,” he said. “‘That’s Life’ is about my life. A lot of songs are based on my life and my experiences. I don’t like to write about things I’ve never experienced. It could be why I’m popular with an older crowd. Younger people like the poppy stuff.”
He’s looking to release the album on Spotify, iTunes and other streaming platforms. It also will come out on CD and vinyl.
“It takes a lot of time to write songs,” he said. “This feels like the biggest accomplishment because it was five years in the making. I work full-time as a welder and play all the time so it’s taken me five years to write 20 songs.”
Venturelli started songwriting as a hobby six years ago and said he’s never been committed to any pursuit so long. He was inspired by 1990s country musicians like Hank Williams Jr. and Randy Houser.
“It might have been what I grew up on, but it’s a way of life,” he said. “It’s my favorite type of music. It makes me feel good.”
He’s opened for many big country stars, including Travis Tritt, Darius Rucker, Brothers Osborne, Billy Currington, Jackson Dean, Diamond Rio, Rodney Atkins and Joe Nichols.
He has a large local following, often playing in venues like Hard Rock Northern Indiana and the Hobart Art Theater. He’s a regular at events like the Lake County Fair, Dyer Fest and Griffith’s Rock ‘n’ Rail Festival.
“It like to go on stage. It’s like a release from the world,” he said. “It feels great to entertain. But it makes a long week longer and it is a lot of work. But it doesn’t matter how many hours you put in at the end of the day. You feel a lot of adrenaline when they’re singing your songs back to you or cheering for your covers. It’s very rewarding.”
Venturelli is especially known for the song “Union Man,” which has been streamed more than 250,000 times and aired on stations like Country Radio 105.5, iHeart 98.3 FM and Q Country 102.9 FM.
“A lot of my crowds are union workers and blue color,” he said. “I like to write about real life. ‘Union Man’ is about my grandfather’s life. My grandmother and mom told me he would have been proud to hear it and see me doing what I am now.”
