Nikki Lane + Blank Range @ Motorco Music Hall – July 27th 2018

It was early last year when we last caught Nikki Lane playing Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro NC, shortly after releasing Highway Queen, her second album for New West Records. Since then, it appears that Nikki has been determined to live up to the title of her album. The “Highway Queen” toured solidly through last year, and has continued her extensive run of shows well into 2018, with a summer tour set to keep her on the road into the fall. We were soo taken by Nikki’s charming and engaging performance last year, that we made it a point to catch her headlining return to Motorco Music Hall in Durham NC last Friday night.

After a solid opening set from fellow Nashville-based psychedelic country rockers Blank Range, Nikki Lane and her band took the Motorco stage only to be beset by technical issues from the first few notes. Rather than letting the sound problems derail the evening, Nikki took It in stride, adapted to the situation, and went on to deliver a wildly fun and freewheeling performance.

Nikki Lane remained every bit the distillation of rock swagger and earnest sweetness we saw early on in the Highway Queen tour. The relentless road miles do not appear to have worn on the captivating laidback bad-ass, so be sure to catch one of the remaining summer shows if you get the chance, and in the meantime, check out some photos from the show at Motorco.

Nikki Lane + Blank Range @ Motorco Music Hall – July 27th 2018