Nick Able
From Newcastle to the World Stage and Back Again.
Stepping into Nick Able’s office, visitors are met with a striking sight – a state-of-the-art mixing desk dominating the room, hundreds of books lining the shelves, covering business, spirituality, music, self-help, and even UFOs.
Concert posters, newspaper clippings, and eclectic memorabilia scattered throughout, giving the space the unmistakable vibe of a personal man cave-part creative hub, part showcase of a life lived fully and diversely.
For more than two decades, the Newcastle-born musician has lived a life shaped by music, travel, and unexpected turns. His journey has taken him from a teenage obsession with the guitar to performing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages – and now to creating new spaces for sound and wellness and even sustainability.
Nick’s earliest memory of music isn’t of playing, but of longing. At just eight years old, wandering past a guitar shop window in Newcastle’s Central Arcade, he felt an immediate pull to the instrument. “I didn’t come from a musical family,” he recalls, “but something about the guitar just connected with me.” After years of persistence, he finally got his first guitar at 13. From that moment, he was hooked. His teenage years were consumed by practice, study, and an unshakable dedication to music. By his late teens, Nick’s fascination with sound stretched far beyond the guitar. A chance encounter with a sitar sparked his curiosity for Indian music.
In 2003, Nick moved to India to study under legendary sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.
“Through a few emails and a lot of persistence, I was invited to live and learn at his home in New Delhi,” Nick explains. “It wasn’t just about the music, but about the discipline, culture, and immersion.” Within weeks of arriving, he found himself on stage in Mumbai, performing alongside Shankar and his daughter Anoushka – a surreal initiation into a new world.
That experience launched a career that took Nick across the globe. He performed in iconic venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. He was part of international tours that saw him share stages with orchestras, crossover ensembles, and world- renowned soloists, often blending Indian classical traditions with Western styles.
For twenty years, Nick was closely associated with the Shankar family, performing with Ravi until his death and then continuing to tour internationally with Anoushka Shankar. “It was an incredible apprenticeship,” he says. “I was often in the background, playing tanpura or adding texture, but it gave me a front-row seat to see how the very top level of the music business operates.”
That insight proved invaluable. Alongside performing, Nick began to explore the business side of music. He cofounded an online guitar education platform with Andy James, guitarist of metal band Five Finger Death Punch and the site became one of the leading destinations for online guitar tuition before he sold it to LickLibrary.com, the world’s largest guitar education website. Nick also collaborated on digital projects with jazz virtuoso Frank Gambale and worked with broadcaster Alan Robson on his digital platform, Robson’s World.
But the touring lifestyle and constant work eventually took their toll. After years of chasing deadlines and living on the road, Nick hit a difficult period. “I was in a dark place for a few years,” he admits. “I stopped writing and performing my own music. I lost touch with that part of myself.” It was during this time that he turned inward, using music as a tool for healing. Sound baths, yoga studio performances, retreats and meditative projects allowed him to reconnect with his craft in a gentler, more personal way.
Yet music isn’t Nick’s only focus. He has also turned his entrepreneurial energy toward Project Container, an initiative to transform shipping containers into bespoke luxury holiday homes in Northumberland and beyond. “At first, I just thought about getting a cabin in the woods for myself,” he laughs. “Then I thought, why not make it into a business?” Though still in development, the project reflects Nick’s drive to build ventures that balance creativity, sustainability, and lifestyle.
Looking back, Nick reflects on the way music has carried him through every chapter – the triumphs as well as the challenges. He has composed for film, collaborated with musicians across genres from jazz to pop, and performed for audiences in every corner of the globe. And yet, what matters most to him now isn’t fame or recognition, but connection.
From a boy staring at guitars in a shop window to a man shaping soundscapes that heal, Nick Able’s story is proof that music doesn’t just entertain – it transforms.
Nick will release his first solo album in early 2026.
www.nickablemusic.com