Nicki Bluhm - Avondale Drive (Clear Blue)

Nicki Bluhm's creative confidence and authentic vocals are front and center on AVONDALE DRIVE, her sophomore solo album and the follow up to her critically-acclaimed 2018 release To Rise You Gotta Fall. The native San Franciscan who now calls Tennessee home possesses a gorgeously emotive voice and her clear-eyed perspective on life informs the 10 tracks on the new release. Produced by Jesse Noah Wilson and recorded in East Nashville, the new album features a cast of musical luminaries including Oliver Wood, James Pennebaker, Jay Bellerose, Jen Condos, Erik Slick, Erin Rae, Karl Denson and AJ Croce. The album combines nostalgic country-rock with distinctly modern lyricism-an apt contrast for the process of studying one's past in order to make a better future. Stand out tracks include a duet with Oliver Wood on Friends, the folksy Juniper Woodsmoke, the reflective Learn to Love Myself and Wheels Rolling, a windows-down, hit-the-gas banger that ends the album Bluhm's music career began in the Cow Hollow area of San Francisco, where she recorded two solo albums and co-founded Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers. After gaining widespread attention for their Van Sessions on YouTube, in particular their cover of the Hall and Oates classic I Can't Go For That which has garnered nearly 4 million YouTube views, they toured internationally and recorded two albums as a band. Since embarking on her solo career, Bluhm has carved a niche for herself as a powerful and incisive writer as well as an unparalleled vocalist. In addition to her solo work, Bluhm is also a sought-after collaborator with an A-list of icons and tastemakers including The Wood Brothers, George Porter Jr., The Infamous Stringdusters and Phil Lesh.