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Ten-­year-­old Nick Ferretti unwrapped the Christmas present and wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to do with it. It was a half­size Spanish guitar his Dad had acquired from a hobo fleeing a shady past. It wasn’t long until young Nick was under its spell, enchanted by the sounds he could conjure from this strange object. Within a year he was on the streets of his hometown Nelson, New Zealand, killing songs for small change. They were songs he loved, learnt by heart from his parents’ scratchy records. While his school mates were idolising the likes of Justin Timberlake, Backstreet Boys and Eminem, Nick was going deep on Springsteen, Mink De Ville and Dylan. Gradually his playing got better and better, he started writing his own songs and playing open mic and jam nights, where his soulful vocals and blues influenced licks started getting attention. In 2014, Nick recorded a full­length album, Back to the Dust, in Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios in Auckland. The 11­track album