EVA Vetted Talent
Cast Iron Shoes
Compare to: Sierra Ferrell/Tyler Childers/Lucinda Williams
Austin, TX, USA
Blues Country Folk Fusion, Jugband Bluegrass, Country Western RocknRoll led by singing fiddle player
Cast Iron Shoes is an Americana (country) band based out of Austin, TX. Helmed by fiddle player & songwriter Nicole Ridgwell (Goldtone & Electrovoice endorsed multi-instrumental Artist), they cook up brand new red hot Texan Alt-Country, mixing swampy blues & desert outlaw mountain mama vibes in high energy live shows featuring Austin’s most dexterous bluegrass & honkeytonk musicians.
2025 Achievements: international tour, domestic tour, 2 new albums, management deal, first song placed in a film. Catch this live act while you still can.
Videos
Styles
Americana
Bluegrass
Honky Tonk
Singer-Songwriter
Southern Rock
Band Setups
Duo
Full Band
Solo
Trio
Event Types
In-Person
Hybrid
Virtual
Occasions
College Event
Corporate Event
Festival
Private Party
Public Event
Wedding
Song Types
Some Covers
No Covers
Offerings
FULL BAND PERFORMANCE
Featuring Nicole on fiddle & Guitar, plus a band of the best instrumentalists in town including drums, bass, and a lead instrument (keys, guitar, banjo, or mandolin)
Event Types: In-Person
SOLO PERFORMANCE
Featuring Nicole on fiddle & guitar, an intimate experience where the audience gets to connect with the vagabond songwriter herself, immersing themselves in her music and stories.
Event Types: In-Person
DUO/TRIO PERFORMANCE
Featuring Nicole on fiddle & guitar, plus one or two supporting musicians.
Event Types: In-Person
Reviews (2)
Wayne Robbins
Newsday - Music Journalist & Critic
“Folk songs for lonely tumbleweeds" is the self-description of Texas "badass" fiddler, singer, and songwriter Nicole Ridgwell. She opened one of her sets with "Don't Let Me Go Back," just her and her fiddle, alternating instrument and vocals. If one were to invent a story about Ridgwell, it would be this song, with its sense of exile from a small town, the shame of returing. (She lives in Austin, Texas.) She's got a full-throated voice, not afraid to push it to her limits.
Debora Ewing
Folk Works - Journalist
I don’t know what to call the music I like: Hard folk. Punk Folk. Death Folk. Americana with a sledge hammer. Strings, wood, and metal with a dusty floor and a bit of grunge. What makes it Folk is the story it tells: hard-luck and road-weary, living out of sheer spite. Real stories of real folks and all the uncomfortable furniture that entails.
Nicole Ridgwell connected with me and one word in her email jumped out at me with a bounce and crazy eyes: ANALOGUE. I had to know more. Nicole asked only that I get to know her music before we talked, and I surely did.
Cast Iron Shoes makes a sound that soothes my mind – just edgy enough to feel mildly threatening, but soft enough to curl up and take a nap. You can decide if I’m describing my mind or the music. This is a place where truth is messy but irrefutable. Our conversation wove through vintage gear, & honesty in art.