Partical Kid

Composer and multimedia artist Micah Nelson has a remarkable body of work that spans the creative spectrum. The visionary, whom Rolling Stone hailed as one of its "New Classics" ("The creative visionaries celebrated here come from the worlds of music, acting, comedy, sports and more... they share a refusal to be contained by the rules of the past as they define the territory of the future"), creates art under the moniker Particle Kid, finding no boundaries in his creativity.

Particle Kid has released six albums of original music, including his most recent release, Time Capsule, a 26-song musical journey through time, space, and consciousness. The album features guest appearances from Jim James, Sean Ono Lennon, J Mascis, Margo Price, The Lovely Eggs, and Micah's father, Willie Nelson, on three tracks, including "Die When I'm High (Halfway to Heaven)." His previous releases—Particle Kid, Everything Is Bullshit, Particle War, Window Rock, and Live! Underground—represent just a portion of the extensive catalog Nelson has built through collaborations with other artists and musicians.

Neil Young personally selected Nelson to join both Crazy Horse and The Chrome Hearts, and Nelson also appeared in Young's feature-length film Paradox. For Record Store Day 2018, he released Lucky Wheel, a split 12-inch vinyl collaboration with punk legend and X co-founder John Doe. Micah also produced Willie Nelson's studio album Last Leaf on the Tree, featuring songs written by Micah and Willie alongside Willie’s interpretations of works by Neil Young, Keith Richards, Tom Waits, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Nina Simone, and others.

A year-round touring artist, Particle Kid has headlined shows around the world and opened for artists including The Flaming Lips, Tinariwen, Meat Puppets, and Claypool Lennon Delirium. He has also appeared at festivals including Luck Reunion, BottleRock, UTOPiAfest, and the Outlaw Music Festival.

Beyond music, Particle Kid is a passionate industrial hemp advocate. He has served on the National Hemp Association's Board of Directors, participated in Farm Aid initiatives and festivals, and spearheaded a Change.org petition supporting the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, which became law in December 2018. Blending activism with creativity, he handcrafted 20 hempcrete time capsules to accompany Time Capsule. Hidden "Time Tokens" inside select CD sets can be redeemed for one of these capsules, each containing the album and videos on a thumb drive, printed artwork, industrial hemp seeds cultivated by Nelson himself, and a ticket granting general admission to every Particle Kid concert in the year 2042. Nelson explains, "I hope that incorporating industrial hemp into my art will help educate people not only on the crop's many sustainable functional uses, but how it was deeply entwined with our nation's history and the history of the world."

For nearly a decade, Nelson and his wife, Alex Dascalu Nelson (aka Sisterlu), have operated Spitball Pictures, producing music videos and films for their own projects and other artists. Their work includes videos for Edie Brickell & New Bohemians ("Tripwire" and "My Power"), Anthony LoGerfo of Promise of the Real ("Love Commando"), Sunny War ("Age of a Man"), Tinariwen ("Wartilla, Dan Caret Dub"), Folk Uke ("Small One"), and Neil Young ("Shape of You").

In 2024, Nelson directed and produced an animated short film adaptation of Neil Young's 1982 dystopian sci-fi concept album TRANS, released as part of Neil Young Archives Vol. III (1976–1987). He has also developed an extensive visual art portfolio, creating album artwork for his own releases and posters for his solo tours. As a member of the Moonlight Arts Collective, founded by Incubus' Brandon Boyd, Nelson debuted 14 original works in 2023. Since then, new originals and limited-edition prints have continued to be added to his collection through the collective's online gallery.