From the world of jam bands, playing alongside icons Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, to the stages of Nashville, Bay Area singer/songwriter Nicki Bluhm has been busy forging her own path, on her own terms. Independently minded, with a voice that is at once unique but brings up comparisons to everyone from Linda Ronstadt to Bonnie Raitt, Bluhm sounds eternally American. And now Bluhm is bringing her newest collection of songs to the Felton Music Hall on Nov. 21.
Heralding her latest album, Rancho Deluxe, Bluhm is on a creative journey whose discoveries we all get to savor. From the opening track, “Bay Laurel Leaves,” you know you’re in for a fun ride. Sounding like George Martin orchestrated the strings, it’s a stirring song. Bluhm reveals that Kristin Weber, Americana Instrumentalist of the Year Award Winner in 2021, arranged and played strings on that track, and also on “Taking Chances.”
“She’s a good friend of mine, and an incredibly accomplished player. I really didn’t give her much direction at all. It’s the perfect opening track because it’s sort of mysterious. And for me, it makes me want to just stay and listen and see what’s going to happen next,” says Bluhm from her home along the Cumberland River.
After leaving her roots in Northern California, Bluhm now lives on a ranch in Tennessee, north of Nashville. Idyllic days are spent grooming horses, and in the evening, she performs in a home barn with a wide assortment of some of the most talented folks in the business. With her partner, musician Jesse Noah Wilson, she recorded her latest in their home studio.
Rancho Deluxe is a sonic exploration of picking oneself up, dusting off, and reaching higher. “It’s really special, and there’s lots of water out here, which is really nice too, coming from a drought state. Those are the kind of things that give you subconscious stress. I love it but it is hard to be away from my family. That’s the hardest part for sure. And I do love California,” Bluhm admits wistfully.
In a consumer culture with a short attention span, albums are often chopped up and consumed one track at a time, and out of the order the artist chose. A lover of vinyl, Bluhm admits to a hiccup with Rancho Deluxe before it was pressed.
“We actually had one little tangle,” Bluhm explains. “We had the master, the vinyl mastering was done, and it was in one complete track. And then we decided to change the order, kind of very last minute. And we thought we had communicated that to the record pressing company. We got the first test pressing back and we were like, ‘Oh my God, it’s out of order.’ And so we had to do a whole second test pressing where we switched it.”
Because it does matter how songs appear on an album. Bluhm and Wilson spent a lot of time arranging the songs, like puzzle pieces, to find the perfect sequence. Listening to albums in order might be a lost cultural artifact, but that’s the beauty of vinyl. “Yeah, and it’s fun, too, because the artwork is bigger. So, you can spend time looking at the art, looking at the lyrics, and looking at the credits. It’s just a part of the process to dive into a record, and know who you’re listening to, and where it was made, and who mastered it, and who mixed it,” Bluhm laughs.
The eighth track on the album, “Trying to Survive,” starts off with the deep, soulful sounds of a B3 organ, and it feels like you’re going to church. It’s not out of place to consider Bluhm moving toward being a hybrid Americana/gospel singer. It’s a simple song, but it vibrates like something you’d hear in Nashville’s church, The Grand Ole Opry. The long-haired, lithe singer might not have ascended to that level of Tennessee royalty yet, but if this collection of songs is any indication, Bluhm is going to have a long career with a full treasure chest of gems.
Nicki Bluhm performs at 8pm on Nov. 21 at the Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $35. nickibluhm.com
