As summertime days get shorter, it might be natural to feel blue. Here’s a cure: Feel the blues at the final Bluesdays concert of the year.
The Tuesday shows in the Village at Squaw Valley have been well attended, and for good reason. The venue has presented some of the top touring blues artists in the nation, including Studebaker John and the Hawks, Tinsley Ellis and Jimmy Thackery. The season concludes Tuesday, Aug. 27 with what might be the best of them all, Nikki Hill. Perhaps this is how the phrase showstopper was made.
Hill will perform two sets from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Hill’s blues are rootsy rock ‘n’ roll. The show is high energy. Think Café R& B meets Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds.
Hailing from Durham, N.C., Nikki comes by her Deep South soul honestly, press materials say. Her musical roots began while singing in gospel choirs at church as a child. A stint living in nearby college town Chapel Hill introduced her to many different styles of music and the awareness of music as a possible career. After pairing up with her guitar-playing husband, Matt Hill, the couple relocated to St. Louis, Mo.
Recently creating a whirlwind of excitement following her impromptu and unscheduled performances at the Viva Las Vegas festival, Nikki Hill is anticipating the release of her first full length recording. The self-titled EP that the band has traveled with from state to state and overseas proved with only 4 tunes penned by Hill herself that they have an energy that crosses over many genres, drawing crowds from every avenue at their shows. One club advertisement will call Nikki “The Southern Fireball,” “the new soul sensation,” “amazing R&B shouter,” and even “the new Queen of Rock and Roll.”
