From Nevada County to Nashville and Back Again: Jonny Houlihan Comes Home

NEVADA CITY, CA, 10/5/26 — Sometimes you have to leave home to understand just how deeply it has shaped you. For singer, songwriter and producer Jonny Houlihan, home is Nevada County—the pine trees and backroads, Highway 49, familiar streets and places that were simply part of everyday life when he was growing up in Nevada City and Grass Valley. Houlihan left Northern California for Nashville in 2000 to pursue a life in music. In the years since, he has built a career as a singer, songwriter and producer, making a home in Tennessee while never completely leaving his Nevada County roots behind. Now, more than two decades later, those roots have found their way into some of his most personal music—and Jonny is bringing that music home. On Wednesday, November 11, at 7 p.m., Jonny Houlihan will perform at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City for a special hometown concert presented by Nevada County Broadcasters, Inc., home of KNCO NewsTalk 830 AM and Star 94.1 FM. At the heart of the evening will be songs from 119 Grove St., a deeply personal collection of music named for the Nevada City address where Houlihan spent part of his childhood. Even the song titles feel like a map of home: “Nevada County Line,” “North on 49,” “City Built of Gold,” “Pine Trees and Backroads,” “Old Airport Road,” “Hometown Radio” and, of course, “119 Grove St.” They are songs about places—but even more, they are songs about what those places come to mean after you've been away from them. Earlier this year, “Nevada County Line” was featured during a Nevada County Board of Supervisors meeting commemorating the county's 175th anniversary, a fitting moment for a song inspired by childhood memories of a place that has remained part of Houlihan's story no matter how many miles separate Nevada City from Nashville. For Mary Anne Davis, General Manager of Nevada County Broadcasters, hearing Houlihan's hometown music, made bringing him back to Nevada County to perform it, seem like a natural fit. “There is something incredibly special about hearing someone sing about places you've known your whole life,” Davis said. “When Jonny sings about Highway 49, Nevada County or hometown radio, those aren't just names in a song to us. They're part of our lives. They're roads we've driven, memories we've made and pieces of this community we all share.” Houlihan's roots here also run deep through his family. His father, Pat Houlihan, is a retired Nevada Union High School football coach and athletic director. His brother, Dennis Houlihan, continues the family's connection to Nevada Union football today as a coach with the program. For generations of local students, athletes and families, the Houlihan name has been part of the Nevada Union community. Now another chapter in that family's story is coming home, as the son who left Nevada County for Nashville returns with songs inspired by the place where it all began. “I think that's what makes this concert different,” Davis said. “Jonny isn't simply coming here to play a show. He's coming home. He's going to be singing these songs in front of people who know these roads, remember these places and understand exactly what he's singing about. We get to hear our hometown through the eyes of someone who left it, missed it and ultimately put those memories into music.” The November 11 concert will include songs from 119 Grove St. along with music from throughout Houlihan's career, performed at the historic Miners Foundry in the town that helped shape both the artist and his music. Because sometimes home isn't simply where you live. Sometimes it's the place you carry with you—and eventually write songs about. CONCERT INFORMATION An Evening with Jonny Houlihan — Coming Home Wednesday, November 11, 2026 | 7 p.m. Miners Foundry | Nevada City, California Tickets are available at KNCO.com. The concert is presented by Nevada County Broadcasters, Inc., home of KNCO NewsTalk 830 AM and Star 94.1 FM.