In a world where female singer/songwriters are a dime a dozen, Nici Peper captures attention and shines bright with her honest lyrics and sultry smooth singing voice. Peper, a St. Croix Valley native, originally started singing in local church choirs. After discovering a guitar under her parent’s bed, she began writing songs primarily as an outlet. Her music, best described as acoustic folk, features soft guitar parts and delicate piano touches that help draw attention to her voice. Her voice is strong, but still feminine, and the messages that it sings are telling and deeply personal. Peper has previously said that she likes to leave her listeners feelings hopeful when she isn’t being a selfish songwriter. With every song of hers I’ve sampled, it’s obvious that her hope to inspire people to live happy and free is stronger than her occasional self-involved lyric. In her song Bluebird, Peper explains that life is too hard to live alone – especially in the winter.  With such a long and cold winter inevitably ahead for Wisconsin, it would be worth your time to take a listen and catch Nici Peper playing in the area (she does semi-regularly) to help avoid the winter blues. This show, in particular, is also good because it features the awaited EP release of DAMES.

Nici Peper (opening for Jonny Ace and DAMES CD release) • Nov. 11 • Bottle & Barrel, 208 S Barstow St., Eau Claire • 9:30pm • FREE • all ages • 832-8844