Nicole Atkins

Nicole Atkins sounds most at ease where 1950s crooning, soul and 1960s psychedelia meet, a blend that has drawn comparisons to Roy Orbison and the Brill Building songwriters. Born in Neptune, New Jersey, she grew up in Shark River Hills, overlooking the river that she has credited as a major inspiration, especially the image of the river in the rain from the title track of her album Neptune City. She learned piano at nine, taught herself guitar at 13, and favoured records her parents played, from The Ronettes to Johnny Cash.

After studying illustration at UNC Charlotte, she joined the Nitehawk supergroup and released The Summer of Love EP with Los Parasols in 2002. Signed to Columbia in January 2006, she and The Sea recorded debut Neptune City in Sweden with Tore Johansson, released in October 2007. Mondo Amore followed on Razor & Tie in February 2011, and Spin called her band the best live band at the South by Southwest festival. Slow Phaser reached number 143 on the Billboard 200, and Goodnight Rhonda Lee, her fourth studio album, arrived in July 2017, recorded in Florence, Alabama.