nakia

Nakia: “Thrill-O-Matic”

If you’re already planning out your weekend and want to offset the Sunday scaries with some fresh visuals, consider checking out a three-act bill that coincides with a music video premiere.

The ringleader behind the affair is Nakia, the mononymous grifter of Austin’s vibrant blues scene. With only two records to his name at the time, Nakia started off the 2010s strong as a semi-finalist on The Voice‘s inaugural season. That’s absolutely an accolade worth bragging about, but nothing compares with new content, right? Well, keeping pace with his already-robust post-pandemic output, Nakia’s got some new optics he’s about to drop under the spotlight.

This Sunday Nakia commemorates the music video release for last October’s “Thrill-O-Matic”, a tune that was actually penned right after The Voice‘s finale, demo files long lost to the aether before a recent recovery made it a reality. Doors are at 7PM, Junerise kicks it off at 7:15, Nakia does his thing at 8:15 (your only opportunity to see “Thrill-O-Matic” before it hits the internet on Monday morning) and our June 2023 Artist of the Month Pelvis Wrestley wraps it up a quarter past 9. Until then, vanquish any Tuesday blues with the soul-rockin’, Abbey Road-mastered, Dolby Atmos-mixed mechanics of this Nathaniel Rateliff-esque original.

Nakia: “Dream Big”

If you’re a longtime listener of KUTX, then you probably agree that Austin’s Nakia has historically been a bit of staple on our airwaves. The four–time Studio 1A veteran and two-time My KUTX host has been shaping his soulful style of blues rock for the past decade, and has recently dug up something from around his Season One appearance on The Voice.

“Dream Big” is a wonderfully inspiring document from the earlier annals of Nakia’s career, fully fleshed out from its demo condition and now sealed with reverb-laden polish for our enjoyment in 2021. “Dream Big” dropped last Friday, so go ahead invite some lofty aspirations into your mindset with Nakia’s new single and music video.

One Year Later

We talked to people from across the spectrum of the Austin music ecosystem around the 1-year anniversary of the cancellation of SXSW. In this episode, you’ll hear how they’ve coped, pivoted, evolved, gained new perspectives and dealt with trauma during the last 12 months.

You’ll hear from singer, songwriter and guitar player Jackie Venson, songwriter, producer and activist Mobley, Stephanie Bergara who fronts the band Bidi Bidi Banda, Maggie Lea co-owner of Cheer-Up Charlies, musician and founder of Austin Texas Musicians Nakia, singer, songwriter and podcaster Walker Lukens, live-event coordinator, screenwriter and co-founder of The Amplified Sound Coalition, Jeannette Gregor, executive director of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, Reenie Collins, and executive director of Austin Texas Musicians, Pat Buchta.

We have a survey and we’d love to hear what you think! Go ahead! Take the survey here!

Links:

Listen to Jackie Venson’s music

Check out Mobley’s new record “Young and Dying in the Occident Supreme”

Listen to Nakia’s new single “It’s Never Too Late.”

The Amplified Sound Coalition

Austin Texas Musicians

The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians

Max Frost // Nakia

In this episode of “This Song” host Elizabeth McQueen sits down with Max Frost and Nakia to talk about songs that helped them find their artistic voices.

You can hear Max Frost’s studio 1A Performance from June 6, 2015 here

You can see the video of Nakia singing with Sharon Jones here

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