Why Americana Singer Nikki Morgan Is Leaving Room For Error

In the foothills of the picturesque North Carolina mountains lies the city of Wilkesboro, also known as the ‘the heart of American folk music’. All year round you’ll find majestic mountain views, apple picking aplenty, and festivals celebrating everything from wine to livestock to keep you entertained. And if you know where to look, you might just be fortunate enough to stumble across artist Nikki Morgan, Americana’s new sweetheart.

We recently had the privilege of connecting with this sweet and humble soul (via flip phone), to discuss her journey into the music industry, and her latest project 30 Something. 

Growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina, Nikki often spent time in the more quiet and spacious scene of Wilkes County, where both sides of her family were rooted. Both of her grandfathers pastored congregations in the city, so like many musicians, Nikki grew up in the church. 

“That was my introduction to music,” Morgan told The Block. “I didn’t realize it then, but looking back we were singing all these old gospel, call-and-response, Pentecostal church songs. That was my foundation.”

Throughout her high school years, Nikki only listened to traditional gospel and contemporary Christian music. That is, until she discovered country. As a young Black girl coming of age in the mid-aughts, not only were there not many country artists that looked like her, she also didn’t have many peers who shared her same taste in music. So in secret, Nikki would sneak off to watch the Country Music Channel, finding inspiration from artists like Shania Twain, and developing a natural connection to the genre.  

“I had this secret desire to do that. Like man, I’m gonna be a country star.”

Though the lack of representation in the predominantly white industry was initially discouraging, once she moved to Chicago after college, she picked up a guitar for the first time and began to write. Unintentionally, country music was what naturally produced through her creative process. 

“I stand by that genre [country],” Nikki said. “Americana can be this kind of melting pot of genres and can be hard to define. But the reason I consider myself to be country is because the stories are really important to me, and they’re really important to the definition of the genre.”

Although the term Americana became popular towards the mid-nineties, its roots are pulled from the musical ethos of traditional gospel, country, blues, and rock-n-roll. Now as complex as we know the histories of these genres to be, especially as it relates to the Black influence within them, African and African American contributions to these musical classifications have been all but erased.

Nikki now considers it her responsibility to carry on the legacy of Black country and bluegrass singers such as Rhiannon Giddens, a legendary artist known for not only her musical talents, but for the ways in which she educates her audience on Black erasure from the genre. 

“The very first time I heard that a banjo was a traditional African instrument, it was at one of her [Rhiannon’s] shows. I was like, ‘oh my god, I didn’t know that. I’ve gotta learn the banjo now!’ ”

Now, Nikki is fulfilling her commitment to the legacy with the release of her album, 30 Something, a blend of country, blues, and oral history. Inspired by SZA’s 2017 album Ctrl, Nikki weaves interludes between songs, a format also recently revived by artists like Solange. The oral snippets were salvaged from a now discarded film project she at one point had partnered with a cinematographer friend to produce. Interviews with women of all classes and racial backgrounds dictate how life in one’s thirties can sometimes be riddled with anxiety and disappointment. 30 Something tells the nuanced stories of walking into womanhood, beyond the grace offered in your twenties. 

“Just because I haven’t got it all figured out doesn’t mean my life is trash or that I’m moving in the wrong direction,” Morgan explains. “Society is only preparing us for perfection, leaving no room for error. Compared to seemingly perfect Instagram lives, it can sometimes be difficult to start over, especially at a point in life where everyone expects you to have figured it out already.”

Nikki recently returned home to the Carolinas where she is embarking on a new journey, both personally and musically. When asked what she was most looking forward to post-pandemic she responded:

“I’m ready to make a return to the stage. To possibly try out new genres, to grow, and to explore.”

The Block for one, is excited to bear witness. You can find Nikki Morgan’s 30 Something wherever you stream music, and connect with her further at heynikkimorgan.com  or Instagram: @heynikkimorgan.