Telluride Bluegrass Festival: Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers

15 Jun Telluride Bluegrass Festival: Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers

Saturday NightGrass sold out. Rising stars, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, perform again Sunday, June 22, 1: 15 – 2:30 p.m. at 41st annual Telluride Bluegrass

“Nicki has filled a void in music with her brand of vintage-tinged rocking country soul – music that’s like an enchanting friend you’ve known for a short while but feels like you’ve known forever,” Chicago Tribune

Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, by Jen Siska

Her sterling pipes emit rich tones tinged with honey and smoke. She is emotionally expressive and bold and known to effortlessly shape-shift from one tune to the next. Some say the lady is a cross between Linda Ronstadt and Patsy Cline. Others compare the sexy, soulful Nicki Bluhm to Janis, Etta and Amy. All comparisons put Nicki in very good company.

Telluride Bluegrass marketing honcho Brian Eyster, another fan, is betting “Nicki is going to be a crowd favorite this year. She and her band, The Gramblers, sound like classic 70s-era California folk rock. They’ve been blowing up in the past year thanks to lots-of-fun YouTube videos of them singing songs on their tour van.”

Nicki Bluhm is a California-based American singer, songwriter and now band leader, who began her career recording songs with husband Tim Bluhm and gigging with guitarist Deren Ney, a childhood friend. When her debut album Toby’s Song was released in 2008, she assembled her touring band, recruiting Ney to play lead guitar. Dave Mulligan accepted an invitation from Nicki to join the Gramblers on guitar and vocals while out hiking with the Bluhms one day. Bass player Steve Adams and drummer Mike Curry each got the call from the couple and agreed to double-time it with their existing musical commitments. When not working with his own band, the Mother Hips, Tim takes his place on guitar, keyboard and vocals.

Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers made a leap onto the national music circuit in 2011/12 with the release of Driftwood, bringing onto the stage a refreshing sound, a spirited show and a basket full of good vibrations –along with a turntable and milk crates stocked with their favorite vintage vinyl for backstage sustenance.

It was during that same time the band’s “Van Sessions” video for Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That” went viral. The band went right back on the road and quickly developed into a tight-knit, six-piece headlining act, logging over 200 dates in 2012.

Nicki Bluhm, by Lauren Massie

In 2013, Nicki & the Gramblers’ touring schedule included auspicious sets at Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Hangout Music Festival and Mountain Jam. They were also featured on network television by veteran journalist Anthony Mason for “CBS This Morning.”

Can you spell “K-i-s-m-e-t”?

Today the San Francisco-based band and its striking front woman with a girl-next-door aspect rhymes with growing success and a heartfelt patchwork of California folk-rock, brisk Americana and show-stopping soul, punctuated with fresh four-part harmonies, crisp rock guitar and soaring, nuanced vocals. The are currently touring their latest release, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers.

“There’s four songwriters in the band — me, Tim, lead guitarist Deren Ney, and rhythm guitarist Dave Mulligan. Basically we all write independently and then bring songs to the table and play ’em for each other. Typically we always like the songs that people bring in; I think there has yet to be a song that we didn’t like, which is really lucky. We all definitely have a common thread in our songwriting, but it’s all got some personality to it. I think it’s really cool to have multiple songwriters; it kind of diversifies the feel and the sound. So far it’s worked well for us,” said Nicki.

Nicki Bluhm, sassy, by Lauren Massie

How well? Judge for yourself when Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers perform on the Main Stage at Telluride Bluegrass.

To learn more, click the “play” button and listen to what Nicki has to add.