Daisy Rickman plays Nick Drake's Guitar

On 12 August 2026 at 5:30 pm at EartH Theatre, Daisy Rickman performs the songs of Nick Drake on two guitars that bookended his short but influential career.

The first is Nick Drake’s earliest guitar, a Spanish-made nylon-string Estruch purchased in December 1964 for £13 on Marlborough High Street. Nick used the Estruch to practice during his time at a tutorial college in Birmingham and while busking in Aix-Marseille, France, in 1967. The Estruch is viewed as the songwriting companion where many of his complex fingerpicking patterns and unique tunings were first experimented with.

Several tracks that appeared on his 1969 debut, such as "Three Hours" and "Fruit Tree," were refined during this period. Demos recorded in Robert Kirby's dorm room at Caius College, Cambridge, in 1968 feature him playing acoustic arrangements that likely originated on the Estruch or his early steel-string. By the time he entered Sound Techniques studio to record the official album (May 1968–April 1969), he had largely transitioned to steel-string guitars. However, his arranger Robert Kirby remembered him also having his Spanish guitar (the Estruch) in the studio. It is often speculated that the softer nylon-string sound heard on tracks like "Day Is Done" or "Way to Blue" (early sessions) may have been recorded with the Estruch.

The second guitar is a 1972 Martin 000-28, purchased from Ivor Mairants Musicentre in London on 13 August 1973 (shortly after Pink Moon was released). It is believed Nick bought this guitar to replace his earlier steel-string instruments, including a Levin LS-18 and a Martin D-28, both of which were reportedly destroyed or sold during his final years of deteriorating health.

The Martin 000-28 was the primary instrument used during his last recording sessions in July 1974. It provided the tone for his final songs: "Black Eyed Dog," "Rider on the Wheel," "Hanging on a Star," "Voice from the Mountain," and "Tow the Line." Unlike the larger dreadnoughts he used earlier, the 000-28 has a smaller auditorium body style.

Following Nick's death, the guitar was given by his father to their family friend Brian Wells. It was later returned to the Nick Drake Estate and remains in the possession of his sister, Gabrielle Drake.