The interweaving of Soul, Americana, Rock, Gospel and Blues is an integral part of Nikki's sound, and you can hear it on Stories I Only Tell My Friends.

Written in 2023-2024, three years after Nikki relocated to Chicago from Los Angeles, some of the songs on this album revolve around exclusion, uprooting and her personal experiences with migration, while others describe the struggles of staying creative and maintaining a quiet sense of wonder in a fast-paced information-driven society. There are also songs that are pure celebrations of love.

The soul-inspired Americana sound that permeates Stories I Only Tell My Friends is very much a joint creation of Nikki and the members of her band: Rich Lackowski (drums, percussion, harmony vocals), Chris Corsale (most lead guitars, harmony vocals) and Teddy Myers (organ, piano, Wurlitzer and Rhodes), along with John Abbey and Chris Stanford on bass. Nikki played rhythm guitar, all acoustic guitars, the solos on “Square One” and “I Wish the Sun Could Shine on Me,” plus the twin guitar solo on “I Just Knew” (together with Chris). The majority of the tracks were recorded live in the studio.

releases March 14, 2025

Music and lyrics by Nikki O’Neill © Snowflower Music, ASCAP

Musicians:
Nikki O’Neill: lead vocals, guitar, solos on tracks 4, 5, 10, glockenspiel on track 2
Rich Lackowski: drums, percussion, vocals
Chris Corsale: guitar, solos on tracks 2, 4, 7, vocals
Teddy Myers: organ, piano, Wurlitzer, Rhodes
John Abbey: bass
Chris Stanford: bass on tracks 2, 9

Visuals:
Cover design by Renee Castro at Sepia Studio
Mural painting by PERU143
Photography by Justina Lee Photography