Acclaimed blues musician Nat Myers faces battle with a rare cancer

Transcript

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William Brangham: In 2023, we told you about the debut of an acclaimed young blues musician namedNat Myers of Kentucky.

“American Songwriter” said his work — quote — “reverberates with the sound of a deep blues man from the 20s and 30s.”

Special correspondent Tom Casciato now has an update to Myers personal story. It’s part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

Tom Casciato: Nat Myers sings and plays the blues like the last 100 years of music never even happened. He plays his resonator guitar that way too.

I first met Nat in 2023, when he was fresh off the release of his critically praised debut album, “Yellow Peril.” He’d been discovered by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who signed and recorded him in Nashville. We talked about his love of literature, existentialists like Albert Camus and the ancients, especially Homer.

Nat Myers, Musician: You don’t see the fall of Troy. You don’t see the Trojan horse. You don’t see these things. You see a moment after Patroclus is killed.

Tom Casciato: And he spoke of Charley Patton, an artist who inspired his style, and others like Mississippi’s Robert Petway and Tommy McClennan.

Nat Myers’ career was taking off. Less than two years later, his life has taken a different turn.

Nat Myers: I felt something was wrong with me maybe back in November, but I started getting these what I described as pleuritic pains running up and down the kind of the — back of my ribs. I felt like my ribs and my lungs were just like scraping each other. So I thought maybe I just got a lung infection and some anti-inflammatories and stuff would help me out.

So I went down maybe 30 seconds after leaving that urgent care. I got a call from the doctor and she was like, yes, I think we’re dealing with something a little different here than some inflammation.

Tom Casciato: In February, Nat would reveal on social media that he’d been laid low by cancer, a rare sarcoma with growths around his heart and pulmonary arteries.

Nat Myers: I can’t tell you, Tom. They were sure I was going to die. I got some lifesaving surgeries. And I just always thought about Camus talking about the absurdity of life striking a man in the face any day.

And if surgery and life struck me in the face, but I reacted very, very well to my first round of chemotherapy. I have also joined the club.

Tom Casciato: I want to officially welcome you to the club now.

The 34-year-old Kentuckian is being treated in Columbus, Ohio, his care paid for in part by an online fund-raising campaign.

Nat Myers: You know, everybody says one step at a — one day at a time, but, one day at a time, I have found it as terrifying. For instance, I had a PET scan yesterday. I wasn’t sure whether or not the cancer spread to my brain, you know?

Tom Casciato: Wow.

Nat Myers: And to find out that it hadn’t, it’s a great victory. It’s like every day becomes a poker game. It’s a crazy thing. It’s a crazy thing.

Tom Casciato: When we first spoke in 2023, Nat talked about his passion for playing live.

Nat Myers: A lot of people say they play music for the fans or they make the music for these people. Like, we do this all for you. I don’t abide that, because I do this music because, like, literally I’d die if I weren’t playing this stuff.

Tom Casciato: Are you able to play now?

Nat Myers: Oh, yes, thank the lord. Blues continues to be my outlet and my saving grace. I remember this lady down in South Carolina when I was after two-and-a-half weeks bedridden.

She came into my room as I was about to leave and she pointed at the guitar and she said: “Are you a musician?”

And I said; “Yes, ma’am.”

And she was like: “Well, you keep playing on that because that’s going to be your healing.”

I look at old videos of blues musicians I love like Fred McDowell when he was playing in the early ’70s. He died in ’71 of cancer. And I look at him and I see the veins pulsing and him struggling. And I realize that we’re years apart, but we’re in the exact same position. And even despite his — even despite his struggles, he was still playing music wherever he could for people.

I hope one day to be able to play music for people again. It’s the greatest thrill of my life, so…

Tom Casciato: For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Tom Casciato.

William Brangham: What a beautiful young man. We wish him all the healing in the world.