Bluhm at the Barn 

Bay Area born singer-songwriter Nicki Bluhm pulls into Gundlach-Bundschu Winery this Saturday, Sept. 1.  The Folk(YEAH!) produced show begins at 8 p.m. in Gun-Bun’s old Redwood Barn.

Bluhm’s Sonoma appearance is the first night of an extended US tour, hop-scotching around California, then the Midwest, culminating with a show at famed Tipitina’s in New Orleans. “Over the last year or so, I have been playing with a few different formations,” Bluhm explained.  “For the Sonoma gig, I will be with Scott Law and Ross James. They play guitars, so I may be playing some mandolin, banjo, maybe even a little snare.”

Law and James are no strangers to the North Bay music scene. Both are regulars at San Rafael’s Terrapin Crossroads. It is there that they began playing with Bluhm, often times in the Grate Room, typically with Terrapin owner Phil Lesh playing bass.

Bluhm made her mark in Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, the band she founded in 2008. She had been musical partners with then husband Tim Bluhm, and the Gramblers – with Tim Bluhm-kept busy playing clubs and festivals up and down the West Coast. They had an unlikely “hit” on YouTube in 2012 when their version of Hall and Oates’s “I Can’t Go For That”, recorded as part of the Van Sessions, had over 3 million views. The series of live recordings were all done while she was driving the band’s van. The innovatively simple videos were filmed with a dashboard mounted smart phone. The videos are fun and give insight to her varied musical influences. They also give the viewer a taste of her easy charm.

A somewhat abrupt 2017 move from San Francisco to Nashville followed the breakup of The Gramblers and of her marriage to Tim Bluhm. On her website, Nicky said, “I feel like I’ve been through the carwash!”

Nicky was inspired to write a slew of material based on those turbulent experiences. She has recently released a new album called “To Rise You Gotta Fall”. The songs were all recorded in Nashville, at legendary Sam Phillips Recording. Bluhm said, “These songs are quite personal. They are the conversations I never got to have, the words I never had the chance to say, and the catharsis I wouldn’t have survived without.”

In preparation for the Gundlach-Bundschu show, Bluhm, James, and Ross took a recent trip down the Snake River, in Idaho. “Floating down the river, and camping along the shore, was a cool way to work out songs,” Bluhm said. Some new songs were written on the trip, and “…there are still no titles for some of them.”

James said about Bluhm, “She is one of my absolute favorite songwriters around right now and her passion and energy is truly inspiring.”

As for the Gundlach-Bundschu show, there may be performers besides Law and James. “You know how musicians are,” Bluhm said, leaving the barn door open to possible special guests. 

“The barn at GunBun has become one of my favorite places to play in Northern California. It’s absolutely beautiful, with uniquely California vibe,’ said James.

Bluhm will be bringing along with her a 1967 Martin 0018 that she bought recently at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville.  “My friend Scott took me in there one afternoon.  I spotted this little Martin, and I just had to have it. I traded my own guitar in for it.” (for a drool-inspiring experience for guitar fans, visit cartervintage.com).

Nicki said of her upcoming stop in the Sonoma Valley, “It is always nice to be back in California.  It’s home. And Sonoma… I love drinking wine!”

When asked about the new direction that living as a solo artist in Nashville affords her, Bluhm said, “I am not going to try to control the wind.  I am going to let the wind take me.” 

Let’s all hope she catches a good breeze Saturday night.

nickibluhm.com.   gunbun.com.  eventbrite.com