About this project, Steve says: “This is a then-and-now compilation that started in 1977 with a performance at the Other Side of the Tracks in Auburn, WA. Producer Jim St. John planted the seed in our minds that we could record ourselves to some greater goal than what we could envision at the time. “The Very First Time” is an autobiographical song that we thought summed up a lot of our lives together, and fit well with this idea of reprising our very first recording. We tried to pick songs to fill out this project that fit somewhat with the format of our first recordings. It’s a first-release of our very first recording project in this form.  ‘Long, Long Way from Home’ was originally written in 1979 as we were well into recording the first album.  The song was finished in the fall of 2021. ‘Stereo Rain’ was included in our 1994 CD project, ‘Out of the Tangled Years’ which was done shortly after we acquired our first pro recording machine. The title song, ‘The Very First Time’ is a very autobiographical song written in 2017, with appreciation of the years out on the road together.  “Driving in the Freezing Rain” was written on the road home from New Orleans in 2020.  We were driving through Idaho in the snow at the time with Kristi at the wheel. ‘Her Day in the Garden’ is an obvious song describing details of the considerable time we spend in our garden”

Kristi says: “Does it look like we've been together for fifty years? For us, making music as a couple makes some wondrous glue. This is a then-and-now compilation wherein you get to hear our voices from our very-much-younger years as compared to our voices of today. Maybe you can feel our evolution in the music as well; we add our voices to the healing power of music, raise our words against injustice, then set the toes a-tappin'. So, here we are in life-long celebration and offer this to you. Enjoy!”

Steve and Kristi Nebel bring passion, finesse, and beauty with their songs of social justice, knife-edge observations, and pure, simple love. They have traveled extensively, having done nine tours in UK folk clubs and festivals. They have recorded more than ten CDs, mostly of their own songs. Kristi’s 2014 solo CD, for which she twice was nominated “western swing female performer of the year” is a combination of western swing and Steve’s Americana songs. The Nebels' style is informed by a wealth of experience playing their instruments and lending their voices to the other for a blend that exceeds the sum of their two parts. In the UK they played Fylde Folk Festival twice, Baafest twice, the Moor and Coast Festival in Whitby, Captain Cook Festival in Middlesborough and more. This excellent duo also play local Washington state music festivals; for instance they have played Applesqueeze Festival in Steilacoom for 8 years now. They sometimes work with a third musician as the Americana trio, Cosmo’s Dream with which they have toured to the Midwest, and in the UK also locally they perform as a 4 piece country band, “Cowgirl’s Dream”. Returning to public performances in 2022 they kept a busy schedule with performances at three county fairs as well as five parks concerts, five festivals and two other local concerts They currently reside in Tacoma, WA.