For some people, navigating the future can be a daunting task. But New Jersey native Nicole Atkins identified her path in the direction of music and performing early in her life.
“I never wanted to do anything else,” Atkins said. “My mom said I’ve been doing the same thing since I was six.”
As part of her fall tour schedule, Atkins will make a stop at Outpost in the Burbs on September 6th, 2024, at First Congregational Church, 40 South Fullerton, Montclair, NJ. Other artists on the schedule through early winter include: Lizzie No, as part of the “New Voices Series”, on September 20, Robyn Hitchcock (solo) on October 26, Dar Williams on October 28, “An Evening with Bruce Cockburn” on November 8, The Silos on November 16, a fundraiser for NJArts.net featuring a co-bill with Lenny Kaye & Friends and Tammy Faye Starlite on December 14, and the “On a Winter’s Night” Reunion Tour 2025, with Cliff Eberhardt, John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky, and Patty Larkin.
Outpost in the Burbs church interior. Courtesy of Outpost in the Burbs.
Nicole Atkins grew up at the Jersey shore, in the Shark River Hills section of Neptune, close to Asbury Park. And she cites her early access to popular music and live performances as significant to her considering a career in music.
“One of the best things about living in New Jersey for me,” she said, “was that, unlike a lot of other places, being an artist or a singer is considered a viable job there.”
“You can cut your teeth at the shore. It’s a great jump-off place.”
With opportunities to play for an audience being plentiful at a vacation spot like the Jersey Shore, an artist simply needs to be willing and available to play for anyone, anywhere. “If you want to perform, just let people know.”
And this provided more than performance opportunities. “You see other people doing what you’re doing, and you think that maybe you can do that, too. It doesn’t seem like a fantasy.”
Nicole Atkins performing on stage. Photo by Rett Rogers.
New Jersey’s larger neighbor cities–New York City and Philadelphia–are both places that embrace new music and new artists. And Atkins feels this is one of the most important elements that helped her move forward with her musical career.
“Living in New Jersey gives you access,” she said. It offers a lot to choose from. Some areas of the country specialize in a genre, while New Jersey opens its arms to a wide range of styles.
“Being from the shore ingrained the classics from the 50s and 60s in my head,” Atkins said.
And it was not only the shore town venues, but also the radio out of New York City and Philadelphia, that offered that soundtrack. Those stations had radio personalities who not only spun the tunes, but also shared stories and history, and context, giving listeners a wide-view soundtrack to their lives.
“We were so spoiled by having those great radio stations.”
When she was younger, Atkins did musical theater and discovered a singing style that caught her attention. “I was attracted to the belters,” she said. And her powerful and distinctive voice clearly expresses that.
When Atkins and I talked, I told her that I am always able to distinguish her voice, regardless of the style of music she is performing or the band backing her. It can be smooth and tender, or raucous and fiery, but it is always identifiable. I asked her how she could sing any type of song and still maintain that authenticity.
“No matter who I am working with,” she said, “the thing I am most interested in is that classic kind of sound. I keep rooted in that.”
“I’m still a person living in the modern world and listening to modern music, and my thing has always been to combine all those things I’m inspired by and make them feel and sound like they are my own.”
During high school, Atkins was regularly performing locally, often charming audiences with, among other tunes, her version of Concrete Blonde’s “Joey,” (which appeared on “Shovels and Rope Busted Jukebox Volume 2,” the second installment of the collaborative effort between critically acclaimed duo Shovels & Rope and some of their favorite musicians and friends).
“It was one of the first songs I learned,” she said. “Once I started playing it live, someone in the audience would constantly shout out “Play Joey!”
Atkins moved to Charlotte, NC, after high school to study illustration at UNC Charlotte. She quickly connected with the independent music scene there and began to write her own songs. She returned to New Jersey, and then lived for a while in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood. In 2015, Atkins and her former manager and husband Ryan McHugh made the big move south to Nashville, aka Music City USA.
“I didn’t like Nashville at first,” Atkins said. "It was such a different place. It wasn’t NYC and it wasn’t near the ocean. I was land-locked and surrounded by radio country music.”
But Atkins acclimated to her new home and started to appreciate the advantages of living there. “There are so many great musicians and so much that I have in common with people who live there,” she said. “It’s so nice to be a worker among workers.”
“My music career has always been peaks and valleys. And even in the valleys, I have learned to appreciate all of it,” she said, “especially the opportunity to do what I love every night.”
Nicole Atkins performing with The Mavericks. Photo by Gerry Lang.
In the past year or so, Atkins has worked with many musicians. She got to tour with Elvis Costello, perform with The Mavericks – blending her strong voice with a master of the craft, Raul Malo – and write songs with Chris Isaak.”
“But the most fun thing I did this year was to open for Stevie Nicks,” she said. “Welcome to the best night of my life.”
Those appearances marked Atkins’ first time playing arena shows, and now she says the big halls are her favorite venues. “Being in a room that big, with that many people, is amazing,” she said.
And after all these years of writing songs and performing live, Atkins said her favorite part of it all is connecting with a bunch of strangers.“You can tell the audience a story and it’s like they are sitting in my living room,” she said.
“You’re basically like drug dealers; you’re there to keep everybody high,” she said.
“Somebody’s got to do it. It may as well be me.”
Nicole Atkins performs at Outpost in the Burbs on September 6th, 2024, at First Congregational Church, 40 South Fullerton, Montclair, NJ. Click here for tickets.
