Miles Nielsen's band plays on despite the loss of Daniel James McMahon

Miles Nielsen has always had an easier time crafting sad tracks rather than upbeat tunes.

"It's just natural for me to come up with sad songs," Nielsen said. "Maybe it's due to when I look around and see more sadness than happiness."

That's especially so lately for the veteran singer-songwriter. Nielsen lost his longtime songwriting partner, Daniel James McMahon, in 2024, who died of esophageal cancer.

"I wrote with Daniel for almost 20 years," Nielson said while calling from his Rockford, Illinois, home. "It's been an adjustment without him, but I started writing here and we have all new material. It's the first stuff we're putting out without Dan in all of these years. We're all just figuring it out. We're reflecting on all the cool things we've done together. You can't be sad forever."

Nielsen, 50, and his band, the Rusted Hearts, are on the road and will preview new tunes Friday, Jan. 9 at CSPS Hall. Nielsen is an inveterate storyteller who constructs catchy pop-rock tunes. That shouldn't be surprising since his father is Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen. Cheap Trick is a criminally underrated band, which has a canon of exceptional songs, such as "Dream Police," "Surrender" and "I Want You to Want Me."

Cheap Trick is still on the road, but there's a chance the band will slip through the cracks of history when the act calls it a day.

"I hope that doesn't happen," Nielsen said. "I think Cheap Trick's legacy will actually grow when they're not around. The great thing is that people like Eddie Vedder, Billy Corgan and Dave Grohl constantly cite Cheap Trick as an inspiration."

Cheap Trick is a huge inspiration for Nielsen since he grew up with the act, who formed in 1973, two years before he was born.

"I've seen it all before I ever performed because of Cheap Trick," Nielsen said. "It's been interesting. Thanks to my dad's band, I've experienced a lot."

Since so many legends are fans of Cheap Trick, Nielsen has met many of his heroes.

"It's been a fascinating life," Nielsen said. "I've not had too many disappointments with these icons. "The only person I've been disappointed by was Axl Rose, which you sort of expect. (Guns N' Roses guitarist) Slash was so cool. The same with (Guns N' Roses bassist ) Duff (McKagan) and (Guns N' Roses guitarist) Izzy (Stradlin). (Aerosmith vocalist) Steven Tyler, Joan Jett and Robert Plant couldn't have been nicer. Robert Plant has had an amazing second career with Alison Krauss. I love that what he's doing sounds nothing like Led Zeppelin. Going back to Axl, I don't fault him at all. It's got to be super weird to have everyone pulling at you when you become this overnight superstar and then you're dating Stephanie Seymour."

When Nielsen isn't performing with the Rusted Hearts, he performs with The Nielsen Family Trust. The band includes Nielsen, his father, brother Daxx, who is Cheap Trick's drummer, and his wife Kelly Steward.

"The Nielsen Trust is just such a blast," Nielsen said. "If my daughter shows up, there's three generations of Nielsens onstage. I love being on a stage with my family and with the Rusted Hearts.“

Nielsen enjoys being onstage. It's obvious how much fun he has bantering with the audience since he's often joking around behind the microphone.

"Humor is in our blood," Nielsen said. "My daughters joke about how we speak fluent sarcasm. My dad's no different. He's quick-witted, smart and funny. A great way to deal with things is through humor. You have to laugh about everything, even when things go wrong."

Humor has helped Nielsen deal with the loss of McMahon. But Nielsen can relate to the lyric penned by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain's "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle." The pivotal line is "I miss the comfort in being sad."

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Nielsen can't help but listen to Nathaniel Rateliff's "In Memory of Loss" and "Falling Faster Than You Can Run." Rateliff wrote and recorded some deeply emotional and introspective songs that are beautifully sad. "We Never Win," "Longing and Losing" and "You Should've Seen the Other Guy" are some of the melancholy gems from "In Memory of Loss," which is exceptional.

"If you want to get real down, listen to 'In Memory of Loss,’" Nielsen said. "I had to tell Nathaniel what his work has meant to me when we played on a bill with him at a show at Codfish Hollow in (Maquoketa), Iowa a few years ago. He was super appreciative."

Speaking of Iowa, Nielsen always looks forward to the three-hour drive to Cedar Rapids.

"I love going back there since I have so many great memories of playing Gabe's and The Mill," Nielsen said. "I miss that place. We had so many great shows there."

The concert at CSPS will be the first Iowa gig for Nielsen without McMahon.

"It's hard," Nielsen said. "I can't tell you how much I miss him."

Nielsen didn't seek advice on how to deal with the loss of McMahon with his father.

"My father is an only child and so I didn't get into it with him," Nielsen said.

But the show must go on for Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts.

"We love what we're doing," Nielsen said. "We're going to make more music and play out. It's what we do."