Judy Banker w/ Nikki Morgan – June 2, 2023

Trinity House is pleased to welcome back Judy Banker and her band.  The band will feature drummer Michael Shimmin sitting in for Brian Williams.  They’ll be road testing the arrangements for some of the new tunes coming out on their new album BONA FIDE, along with favorite previous recordings and a few covers.   The record is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2023.

Described as “one of the brightest stars on the acoustic music scene” by PULP online and “a monster singer-songwriter” by SEMIBluegrass, Judy Banker is known for her roots influenced hook-driven songs with intensely personal, evocative lyrics, and her singular, expressive voice.

Judy has assembled an all star group of Michigan artists to form the Judy Banker Band including multi-instrumentalist David Roof (who doubles as recording engineer at his studio, Rooftop Recording), guitarist Tony Pace and drummer Brian Williams (Cold Tone Harvest), bassist John Sperendi (Flying Latini Brothers, Delta 88) and pedal steel player Alan Pagliere (Dixons, Cadillac Cowboys). With roots deep in traditional acoustic folk, Judy took a quantum leap with this band and producer, Ben Sayler, on her highly regarded 2020 full-length release, Buffalo Motel, moving into atmospheric alt country/indie rock territory. Dubbed by Current Magazine (2020) “a big sounding record…a hybrid of Americana, folk-rock and tender balladry…momentous, and ruminative” Judy and her band have continued to refine and develop this sound for her fourth studio album, Bona Fide, to be released November 2023.

Performing on stages from Trinity House Theatre and The Ark in Ann Arbor to the Rosalie Sorrels Music Festival in Boise, Idaho, Judy appears as a solo songwriter, as a trio with band members David Roof and John Sperendi, and with her full band.

As the daughter of a minister and kin to a lot of church folk Nikki grew up listening to traditional gospel/christian music and spent much of her grade school days involved in school band playing clarinet and oboe. But, despite her early exposure to music, it wasn’t until the tender age of 28 when she finally began to start making music of her own.

Nikki was born and raised in North Carolina but Chicago is where she found her first home as a performer and songwriter. Starting out in the open mic scene it didn’t take long for her to garner local support and make her way to some great stages around the midwest: opening for acts such as Jaime Wyatt, Caroline Spence, Boo Ray, and Sean Watkins.

She is a former winner of the awarded Uncommon Ground Songwriting competition; she has been voted as a ‘Judge’s Pick’ in the Nashville Rising Song contest, and recently had her single Love.Save.Me make it to the semi-final round of the International Songwriting Competition.

Nikki finds a way to combine captivating melodies and insightful lyrics with a voice full of raw passion. Her music is unapologetic in it efforts to grapple with real life; and yet elegantly embodies the essence of her “Carolina Soul”. Connect with her and her music at https://missnikkimorgan.com/