members
Nikki Hill
Vocals
Matt Hill
Guitar
Laura Chavez
Guitar
Nick Gaitan
Bass, Upright Bass
Marty Dodson
Drums, Percussion
"Hill is the real deal… steeped in gospel and soul, wrapped up in a punk rock DIY ethic”
- Time Out LA
“Think Tina Turner fronting AC/DC and you’ll have half of the picture. She’s a machine…you’ve got no excuse if you miss seeing her… Nikki Hill is a revelation, her band masters of rocket-fueled bluesy swing, her voice the beacon which calls you home… a vocal powerhouse who don’t mess around.”
- Rolling Stone Magazine
“A fiery performer, channeling some of rock & roll’s most heralded voices, revamping the squalls, screams and shouting-at-the-devil of rock’s pentecostal roots to a blazing new take that she can rightfully call her own, a soul that owes as much to AC/DC as Aretha.”
- Okayplayer
“When you have a powerful Southern soul singer with a penchant for AC/DC, you know you’re going to get something badass… A talent not to be ignored. Hell, she packs so much power, she’ll never let you.”
- PopMatters
“…Hill’s got too much passion to tidy things up, but she knows exactly what she’s doing.”
- SPIN Magazine
Fiery Rock ’n’ Roll Meets Gospel Grit & Soul Power
— sweet seduction, sweeter threat, and smoldering soul. A fierce and original force in American roots music, Hill delivers high-voltage rock 'n' roll with unapologetic swagger, raw passion, and unmatched presence. Blending sultry R&B, gospel grit, and powerhouse rock energy, her voice roars from the depths and dances with danger — she doesn’t just sing the blues, she lives them loud.
is pure fire
Nikki Hill
Born in Durham, North Carolina, Nikki Hill’s musical roots were planted early. She sang gospel in church from childhood through her teens, while absorbing a wide palette of R&B, soul, hip hop, and pop at home. But her story doesn’t stay still. As life took her along the Mississippi River — from St. Louis to New Orleans to Memphis — her ears turned to garage rock, old-school blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and deep-cut Americana. All of it fused into something electric and unmistakably her own. After pairing up with her guitar-playing husband Matt Hill, they have made an unstoppable team and have established themselves as roots rock and roll powerhouses! Nikki Hill’s sound is not retro — it’s revival in motion.
From the moment she stepped onto the stage, Hill has been a revelation. Her breakout debut, Here’s Nikki Hill, released independently, introduced audiences to a voice that’s all grit and grace, backed by a live show that blazes. She followed up with a standout feature on “Struttin’” alongside Deke Dickerson and The Bo-Keys, produced by Scott Bomar in Memphis. Then came Heavy Hearts, Hard Fists, recorded at Fort Horton Studios in Texas — a hard-hitting, sweat-soaked collection that launched a global tour across the U.S., Europe, Australia, India, and Morocco, lighting up over 30 festivals including Montreux Jazz Festival and Byron Bay Bluesfest.
With her third album Feline Roots, she dives deeper into her own stories, carving out a fiercely personal rock ‘n’ soul hybrid. Wailing over love, loss, transgression, and freedom, her band delivers heavy grooves and razor-sharp licks, laying the groundwork for Hill to soar. It's a record that demands to be felt as much as heard.
As Rolling Stone Magazine put it:
“Think Tina Turner fronting AC/DC and you’ll have half the picture.” But Nikki Hill defies comparison. She’s a road warrior, a powerhouse, and a natural born frontwoman. And she’s just getting started.
Discography
Here’s Nikki Hill
Deep Fryed Records
When you listen to Nikki Hill’s debut album, there are a whole lot of references that literally jump to your face and ears. The names of Ike & Tina Turner, LaVern Baker, Etta James, Ruth Brown, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins come to mind. But Nikki Hill is more than the sum of their influences. Nikki has all the swagger of ‘50s and ‘60s R&B soul artists, and every bit of the power and punch of the male blues shouters of the same era. 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”.
Now “Here’s Nikki Hill” is available on vinyl for the very first time. Originally independently released on CD in 2013, “Here's Nikki Hill” features the classic line-up with Matt Hill on guitar, as well as Ed Strohsahl on bass and Joe Meyer on drums. “Her Destination” capitalize on Nikki’s bluesy, coaxing, sinister croon, and she brings spiky, punk-rock urgency to the jazzy “I’ve Got a Man”. The song displays just how much power this girl has, and although the band is blasting out the swamp rocker, it’s still Nikki at the center of it. She is a knockout on rockers like “Right on the Brink”. Her inspiration behind the song: I just know that it’s something that everyone goes through. When you’re sick and tired of… whatever it might be. Of course, the song reflects me being tired of a particular person, but it can be taken not so literally either and applied to a lot of experiences. The feel I was going for was a really rocking number to reflect the intensity of the feeling. Matt’s guitar keeps in congress with Nikki’s vocals and only accentuates the soulfulness of songs like “Don’t Cry Anymore”. An interesting cut is the Jim Glaser-penned cover of the Texas Tornados country hit “Who Were You Thinking Of”, showing Nikki and company taking a rocksteady-ska-style approach.
Combining contemporary elements with the galloping pulse of 1950s rebellious rock, Hill and company respect the intent of the oldies without tying themselves to traditional arrangements or instrumentation. The band brings a crackling, contemporary immediacy to roots rock‘n’soul. Nikki and her band deliver a high energy album and take all the flavours of American roots music to deliver a sound that reminds us all why we love rock‘n’roll.
TRACKLIST
1. Ask Yourself
2. Her Destination
3. I've Got A Man
4. Right On The Brink
5. Gotta Find My Baby
6. I Know
7. Don't Cry Anymore
8. Strapped To The Beat
9. Who Were You Thinking Of?
10. Hymn For Hard Luck
Heavy Hearts, Hard Fists
Deep Fryed Records
A punk rocker and closet gospel choir singer who’s emerged with “a soul that owes as much to AC/DC as Aretha” (Okayplayer), Nikki and her band — including Blues Music Award-winning husband/guitarist Matt Hill — peddle a roaring boogie that reflects an aficionado’s love of R&B and a rebel’s penchant for raising hell. Hill jumped into the process of probing the vital role that Black women played in what became rock ‘n’ roll.
The momentum continued through the release of her second album, “Heavy Hearts Hard Fists”, recorded at Fort Horton Studios in Wyldwood, TX. The acclaimed album was accompanied by a worldwide tour in the US, Europe, Australia, India and Morocco, and over 30 festivals, including Montreux Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, and Byron Bay Blues Festival, receiving praise for uplifting the new songs with an erupting live performance. “Think Tina Turner front AC/DC and you’ll have half of the picture. She’s a machine…you’ve got no excuse if you miss seeing her… Nikki Hill is a revelation, her band masters of rocketfueled bluesy swing, her voice the beacon which calls you home… a vocal powerhouse who don’t mess around.” (Rolling Stone).
“Heavy Hearts, Hard Fists is a simple recount of a bad past relationship,” Hill wrote of the title track. “One of those where you know it's no good, but you stay because you don't have the strength to change, although the reasoning never comes out that way when it's happening. The song is me finding that point where I was finally seeing through blind love, realizing that I didn't want to be there, and that I could move on. Musically, I wanted to do something with that storyline, but still with a solid groove. It ends up coming out very danceable. I think it adds a really great contrast, and honestly, it feels like I'm shaking off those bad memories even more when I'm just digging into the beat!”
TRACKLIST
1. Heavy Hearts, Hard Fists
2. Oh My
3. Struttin'
4. And I Wonder
5. (Let Me Tell You 'Bout) Luv
6. I'm Gonna Love You
7. Hotshot
8. Mama Wouldn't Like It
9. Nothin' With You
10. Scratch Back
11. Twistin' The Night Away
Feline Roots
Deep Fryed Records
Originally independently released in 2018 on house label Deep Fryed Records, “Feline Roots” features the new lineup with Nikki Hill on vocals, Matt Hill and Laura Chavez on guitars, Nick Gaitan on upright and electric bass along with Marty Dodson on drums.
Hill lets her soul rip on this new collection of songs, displaying her now well-known stance to champion for the pioneers of roots and rock n’ roll, while remaining in perpetual forward motion, inviting anyone who wants to come along for the journey. Johnny Thunders straddling guitar, Bad Brains’ rock meets reggae, Stonesy groove, Sister Rosetta Tharpe rave up rockin’ gospel power, all receive nods of recognition. Hill is unafraid of her past or experiences, and puts it out there for the sake of the song. The songs imagine the southern soul rocker at times waving her flag in surrender, then in the next moment finding her way back into the climb, bending through supercharged blues, punk soul, revival tent gospel, rockabilly shouts, whatever it takes to get there. It’s her version of rock n’ roll that can only come from her stories. Nikki has never been afraid to take the road less traveled, and it’s clear with “Feline Roots” that she’s living every word.
Nikki push herself to the limit in commanding the stage, which she is doing about 200 nights per year, and showing people that rock n’ roll didn’t have one look or sound. Nikki’s DIY attitude continue developing her sound, where there is a pulpit in the garage; where the girl group turns up the guitar, where southern twang cuts through heavy soul groove.
TRACKLIST
1. Get Down, Crawl
2. Don't Be the Sucker
3. Just Can't Trust You
4. Can't Love You Back (It's a Shame)
5. Holler Out Loud
6. Poisoning the Well
7. Take The Ride (It Don't Matter)
8. Tell the Next World
9. Might Get Killed Tonight
10. The Fire That's In Me
