The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: The Mix

Nikki Talley will be performing at 5 Points Pub.

For singer/songwriter Nikki Talley, Asheville, N.C., represents something more than just a city nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Talley, 30, who recently embarked on a mini-tour with local musicians and friends Laura Blackley and Ashley Chambliss, sees the town as being an area of assorted creativity. The tour arrives in Columbia Wednesday night at the 5 Points Pub.

"It's kind of cool to see a town so diverse," Talley said. "Asheville is a safe haven to be weird and express yourself."

Talley has been deeply entrenched in music since her youth due to her mother's folk singing influence.

According to the singer's Web site, Talley began her career at 19 playing on the streets and in the bars of Key West, Fla., before traveling up to North Carolina.

"Asheville is a self-supported scene," Talley said. "In the world and Asheville as well, it takes all kinds."

Observing the scene over the past couple of years, the singer remarks that the musicians of Asheville are heavily influenced by the bluegrass roots that are found in the city and derived from mountain culture.

After moving to Asheville, Talley received a grant from the arts council to record her debut album "Brother" and formed a band that eventually opened for Edwin McCain.

The songwriter comments that she enjoys maintaining a "schizophrenic" nature of spontaneity in her sets.

"I like to keep the set mixed up for the audience and myself," Talley said. "I love my audience, but I have to keep things interesting for myself as well."

This unusual nature of performing and her distinct voice are what Talley sees as her defining features as a musician.

While Talley supports herself solely on music through numerous gigs and corporate events that she plays, she notes that the business is not particularly easy in this technological age.

"Because of the Internet, you essentially don't have to perform anymore," Talley said. "You can be a one-man band, sell a lot of records and never leave your house."

Talley notes how an increase in connectivity through the Internet and a rise in female singer/songwriters over the past couple of years pose challenges to songwriters in the present day.

The hardest thing personally, Talley observes, is putting a specific finger on her own sound.

Continued...

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