In 1997, Nichols' solo debut appeared on Capitol. An ambitious, richly textured album, Lover's Knot featured Nichols' nasally drawl and plucking banjo over soul, blues, and reggae influences. Needless to say, it was a little ahead of its time. Evidently, Capitol thought so, too: Nichols was promptly dropped, and the record was shelved after only a brief release in North America.

Nichols resurfaced in 2001 with Just What Time It Is, issued in America through Ryko and Rough Trade in the United Kingdom. Recorded in Jamaica with engineer Stephen Stanley (Buju Banton, Burning Spear), the record again mixed country & western with soul and reggae. But Nichols' sound also featured a hint of programming, giving it a hyperreal vibe, like a green-lit night-vision image of a front porch. The album was a critical success, and Nichols followed it with Easy Now in 2002. His fourth offering, Now Then, boasted some of the most carefully crafted, honest, and emotional material of his career, a feat he dutifully replicated with 2007's Days Are Mighty, 2008's Parish Bar, and 2009's Strange Faith & Practice. Readied for a 2010 release was Only Time Will Tell, which involved a collaboration and co-billing with Brinsley Schwarz guitarist Ian Gomm.

Nichols kept busy in the next few years: he penned the liner notes for Bear Family's 2011 collection of Jim Ford demos called Demolition Expert and had an exhibit of his artwork featured at Austin's Yard Dog gallery; and, finally, a new album called The Jeb Loy Nichols Special appeared on Decca in the summer of 2012. Produced by Ben Lamdin of Nostalgia 77, the 13-song set (more on the digital version) placed a handful of classic covers among its originals. They included country, Americana, and R&B tunes such as Merle Haggard's "Going Where the Lonely Go," Townes Van Zandt's "Waiting Around to Die," and George Jackson's "Ain't It Funny." It received very favorable reviews and was followed by a successful tour, whereupon Nichols spent the next several years working on and showing his artwork.

Back in 2010, he'd recorded Longtime Traveller, an extremely limited-edition set released only in Japan by On-U Sound that was omitted from most discographies. Co-produced by longtime friends Adrian Sherwood and Style Scott (relationships that dated to the early '80s), it featured Nichols' Americana and country songs in dread, dubwise, and reggae settings. He was accompanied by members of the Dub Syndicate and Roots Radics, with Sherwood at the mixing desk. In the winter of 2016, On-U Sound reissued the record globally. Completely remixed and remastered, it was expanded with a second disc that included five bonus tracks and a handful of alternate mixes.

In 2013, Nichols received an invitation from Andrew Hale -- Sade's keyboardist and co-writer -- to come to London to write and record. Living and working on a small farm in Wales, Nichols could only get away occasionally. They wrote and recorded for over three years, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. They also spent three days working with Nostalgia 77's Ben Lamdin. The recording process was funded by Nichols' successful undertaking of a PledgeMusic campaign. Titled Country Hustle and released in the spring of 2017, the end product featured covers of tunes by Razzy Bailey and Luther Vandross, as well as originals that wove strands of Southern funk, Northern soul, and dubwise rhythms into Nichols' signature take on country. ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi