Nicki Bluhm

Calling Tennessee home for 6 years now, Nicki Bluhm possesses a modern, clear-eyed perspective that grabs the heart and keeps you holding on to every word.

Bluhm’s music career began in the Cow Hollow area of San Francisco in 2008, where she recorded two solo albums and co-founded Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers. The band went on to record two more albums and toured extensively while posting their “Van Sessions”, covers nostalgic to their childhoods, including their viral YouTube hit, the Hall and Oates classic “I Can’t Go For That.”

In 2017, Bluhm made the decision to leave California to forge a career as a solo artist in Nashville. She recorded her album, To Rise You Gotta Fall (2018), produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Calexico) in the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Services in Memphis. The album exhibited a natural blending of Tennessee sound and Bluhm’s West Coast roots and delved the depths of hard goodbyes and hopeful beginnings.

Her following album, Avondale Drive (2022) explored what it means to be fully yourself, rather than a vessel for the expectations of others. Recorded in East Nashville with producer Jesse Noah Wilson, and featuring Oliver Wood, Erin Rae, A.J. Croce, Jay Bellerose, and others, Avondale Drive combines nostalgic country-rock with distinctly modern, sharp lyricism—an apt contrast for the process of studying one’s past in order to make a better future.

In tandem with recording Avondale Drive back in the doldrums of 2020, Nicki Bluhm and producer Jesse Noah Wilson took advantage of their excessive time off and took a stab at recording songs in the early musical catalog of Cher.

“Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from baring your soul and sing someone else’s songs. Selecting those songs, the right ones, can sometimes be as hard as writing one. Interpreting someone else’s words is another nuanced layer to making a cover song resonate as your own.”

Predating 1973, Bluhm and Wilson selected some of their favorites; songs penned by Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood and of course Sonny Bono. They enlisted old friends and new to play and help sing the duets like fellow Grambler Steve Adams, Sam Blasucci of Los Angeles’s Mapache and Nashville neighbor Butch Walker. “I’ve always been one of many admirers of Cher; her sense of fashion and boldness, the many roles she played and won me over with, her deep and sultry voice and most importantly her endless joie de vivre. We had so much fun with these songs, looking back into a history that seemed more romantic and carefree. It was a refreshing way to honor a living legend and some of those who helped her shine along the way.”

As an homage, the 8 digitally released singles will make up ‘The Beat Goes On, Nicki Bluhm Sings Cher’. The first single will release June 9, 2023 with a new release every month finalizing in December. Nicki and her band aspire to play a live set in their home of Nashville, TN and beyond Fall 2023.

“She is singing like a stronger spirit has found her. There is no doubt Nicki Bluhm is on the way to a wonderful place in her life and her music.” — BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND (AMERICANA HIGHWAYS)

“Bluhm’s prime gift is her incredible voice…An artist equally adept at imparting soothing soulful ballads as she is cutting loose on well-crafted up-tempo tunes.” – LONESOME HIGHWAY

“Bluhm is a cashmere chameleon of song, moving smoothly and effortlessly from genre to genre. But no matter the genre, there is always a poignant undertone of soul in her delivery.” – TURNSTYLED JUNKPILED

Brian K & The Parkway

After more than a decade as a working musician in the DC area, Pagels officially launched the Americana Rock & Roll band Brian K & The Parkway with fellow longtime drummer and producer Stephen Russ in 2024 – marking the first time he would front and tour his own full band project. Following the release of their debut album Killing The Bear, which features “Wind the Clock” – streamed over 10,000 times on Spotify – they recruited Washington Area Music Association award-winning lead guitarist Mike Shade and immediately hit the road, clocking more than 50 shows across 13 states + DC at venues including Jammin’ Java (VA), Rumba Café (OH), The Pinhook (NC), Spruce Peak Arts Center (VT), Club Cafe (PA), Pearl Street Warehouse (DC), and as part of a Hopscotch Day Party in Raleigh, NC.

The band has shared stages with Wheatus, Steve Poltz, and Cat Popper (who also sings a duet on their song “Straight Through”), appeared on three major market TV shows including a live performance on “Today in Nashville,” and gotten radio play on more than 30 radio stations across the US and Canada including WBJB (NJ), WGDR (VT), and WSCA (NH).

Brian K & The Parkway play earnest and expressive Rock & Roll that’s drawn comparisons to Tom Petty, ‘70s Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Warren Zevon, and The Replacements. Their sound blends ragged Americana grit with memorable hooks – think storytelling and swagger of Drive-By Truckers and singalong choruses of Dawes. Their debut album is a musical and lyrical journey from the Gulf Shores of the American South to the Green Mountains of Vermont; from a crowded bazaar in the Middle East to drought-stricken California; from the Rock & Soul of the Jersey Shore to heartbreak in the American heartland.

In April 2025, Brian K & The Parkway released the acoustic EP Kill It Again!, which features the new single “Lifeboat,” a song about what it feels like to be tossed overboard in a storm of political retribution. They are continuing to tour and will be releasing even more new music before the year is through.

”“This is a rock band you’re gonna want to know about.”
-WSMV-TV Today In Nashville

“To play rock ‘n’ roll live is a gift granted to those who can channel the spirit that hovered over their own adolescence and provide it form with words and phrases, chords and rhythms, flanging and tremolo, chorus and delay. <Brian K & The Parkway> possess this gift.”
-Americana Highways

“From upbeat anthems that had the crowd dancing to more introspective pieces that highlighted their lyrical prowess, Brian K and the Parkway proved why they are a force to be reckoned with in the music scene. Their music was delivered with precision and passion, showcasing the band’s tight musicianship and undeniable chemistry.”
-Eat, Sleep, Breathe Music

“In its entirety, ‘Killing The Bear‘ serves as a testament to Brian K & The Parkway’s adeptness at seamlessly melding vintage influences with contemporary sensibilities. The result is a compelling and cohesive debut album that resonates with both nostalgia and relevance.”
-Last Day Deaf