Blues/Jazz/Soul/Funk/Swing/R&B/Rock/Covers/Ambient/Concerts and Originals for clubs, private, corporate, festivals, benefits, cruises and concert settings, vocalist Nikki Armstrong can and will provide for your event! Whether it be Duo to 8-16 piece, depending on what EXACTLY you need! (Note: All bids are based on # of musicians and some bids are based on travel time and travel expenses).
Nikki & band always deliver 110%. Nikki, who is also a professional dancer/actress/songwriter/producer, always performs with attention to detail while at the same time with abandon and a passion that remind many of Tina Turner. Besides being able to tailor music to any event you may need, Nikki has 4 different shows to offer as is. "Lady Sings the Blues" (#1), a tribute to ladies of Blues; such as Bessie Smith, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner and Gladys Knight, "Lady Sings the Blues" (#2) a tribute to the ladies of the American Songbook, including Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Ella Fitzgerald, and Judy Garland. "Just Janis" (yes, just Janis Joplin show! and Nikki Armstrong's Whole Lotta Blues which includes Nikki's original blues/rock/funk material mixed in with her unique versions of R&B, Soul and Funk standards.
Short Bio: Nikki Armstrong was inducted into the NY Blues Hall of Fame in 2012, has toured Europe twice since then and has been a mainstay entertainer at BB King Blues in NYC since 2002. She was the New York Blues & Jazz Society's Musician Liaison for 7 years and has produced 100's of events all over the Tri-state area with the Who's Who of musicians in Blues & Jazz. She has performed and or recorded with Les Paul, Cornell Dupree, Johnny A, Melvin Sparks, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Elliott Randall, "Blue" Lou Marini, John Tropea, Hubert Sumlin, Michael Hill, Pinetop Perkins, Steve Ferrone, and many, many more. Originally coached by Duke Ellington protege' Arranger/Pianist Hal Schaefer, Nikki has studied and performed every style of music from Jazz Standards and Pop, to contemporary R & B and Rock. She settled into the style of Blues when she created and performed for over 5 years up and down the Eastern seaboard as "Toots" in the acclaimed review "Ruby & Toots, The Blues Sisters".
"Nikki's vocals are mixed with jazz, pop, and folk rock, with a warm, rich contralto voice that she colors over a wide spectrum from intimate growls and passionate whispers to long haunting ballad lines, and a sparkling sense of fun!'' ---Michael Lydon (Founding Editor Rolling Stone Magazine and Author, Ray Charles: Man and Music )
"Powerful/from the bottom of soul-filled song well with a serpents unpredictability, Nikki can sink her teeth into the skin of any style of song and make you want to get bit again."- Mister G, DJ 91.7FM WHUS Storrs, CT
"When I saw The Commitments at BB King's, the opening act , Nikki Armstrong & Whole Lotta Blues, was a dynamite little redhead with a great, big voice and a ton of stage presence (and great hair and great legs to boot) and her band is the poo - extremely tight, great groove." - From a fan
"She's got that smoky, sexy sound I love. Nikki's got it all! -Hal Schaefer (Arranger for Peggy Lee & Marilyn Monroe).
References upon request!