Nikki Hill
It’s been referred to a “whiplash moment”. It being the jolting reaction to the comet of the raw energy and emotion that is Nikki Hill.
In 4 short years, mainly through word of mouth testimonials of her live shows, Nikki Hill has taken the music world by storm on the strength of her no-filtered approach and passion for all that’s great about Blues, R&B, and take no prisoners Rock & Roll.
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It was a journey that started with Nikki singing in the church in her North Carolina home from childhood till her teenage years when she discovered the dynamism of Punk Rock that spoke to her senses. And thankfully it didn’t stop there in that Hill was open anything that moved her; be it R&B queens LaVern Baker, Etta James, Ruth Brown or their male contemporaries like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Otis Redding, and Solomon Burke.
In her quest to find her own persona she distilled all of these influences to produce a rocking Blues amalgam with the unmistakeable inspiration of Little Richard holding sway in both the tonalities and swagger of her work. Her recordings: 2011’s self-titled debut EP and the 2013 release, Here’s Nikki Hill, taken on their own merit are respectable efforts; especially given that Hill had her hand in writing seven of the ten tracks. But they’re outshone by her live performances that are decidedly further along on the performance continuum. Here she‘s backed by a tight band – The Pirate Crew – consisting of husband, guitar player, and song writing partner Matt Hill, (who’s urging pushed Nikki into the spotlight), and a tight rhythm section of Ed Stroshahl on bass and Joe Meyers on drums. They do the heavy lifting, leaving Nikki to prowl the stage and use her strong pipes and contagious energy to full advantage.
Make no mistake, as exciting a performer as she, Nikki Hill is a work in progress. But, boy, don’t it feel good!
