Blues/Jazz singer Nikki Armstrong began her performing career as a dancer and actress at age 11. She was inspired by the great jazz singers, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee as well as the great Soul and R&B artists, James Brown and Tina Turner, and finally in her late 20's Nikki decided to commit to singing. She has studied music and voice in Boston, LA and New York, most notably with the great arranger Hal Schaefer (Peggy Lee, Marilyn Monroe). Writing and doing session work in Los Angles and Sydney, Australia for the first few years was fun, but it was live performing she craved and New York was the place to be.

For the past 16 years Nikki has performed regularly all around the New York Tri-State area with her bands, ‘Whole Lotta Blues' and ‘The Nikki Armstrong Project'. As featured guest vocalist, she has performed and or recorded with such artists as Melvin Sparks (Acid Jazz Guitarist) and the Great Les Paul (Father of the Electric Guitar). As a voice coach for over 10 years, Nikki delivers performance workshops and singer showcases in the Tri-state area as well as hosts several popular open jams for singers and musicians at various venues. Recently she became a Deejay on the air every Wednesday afternoon on WFDU, 89.1 from 1pm to 3:45pm.

An important voice in the New York area Blues and Jazz scenes Nikki is on the board of directors of the New York Blues and Jazz Society as Musician's Liaison; coordinating, producing, and performing successful Blues and Jazz events for venues such as Birdland in NYC, Sirius Radio and most recently, benefits for NOLA. She also runs a weekly Blues Jam and has been doing so for the last 10 years.

Besides writing and recording her next CD which will be released summer 2009, Nikki is currently in production for her “Brand New Day” concert, celebrating the dawn of a new year, a new administration and a renewed hope for the future of America and the world. The show debuts January 10, 2009 at the JCC on the Palisades (Tenafly, New Jersey) Nikki and thirty vocalists, ages 9 through 16, backed up by some of the top New York area musicians will be performing the music of The O'Jays, The Staple Singers, Pointer Sisters, Sting, and James Brown.

Her band Whole Lotta Blues, with Jason Green on guitar, Rob Chaseman on sax, A.J. Hager on bass, John McCann on drums and Juan Pertuz on percussion, perform blues/funk/rock and soul/ covers as well as originals and can be seen regularly at Lucille's at BB Kings and other venues in and around the Tri-State Area.

Dennis Gruenling

Dennis Gruenling is “a leading light among the new generation of harp players” (Blues Revue Magazine). After spending some time in New Orleans in the early 90’s, he’s been laying down some of the best blues & roots harmonica on the East Coast for 15 years. Along the way, Gruenling has shared the stage with many top names in the blues world, such as Pinetop Perkins, Snooky Pryor, Homesick James, Little Sammy Davis, A.C. Reed, Mick Taylor and Jimmy Dawkins, as well as contemporary masters such as Rod Piazza, Little Charlie & The Nightcats, Charlie Musselwhite, Kim Wilson, Rusty Zinn, Steve Guyger, and Mark Hummel.

Now after 10 years of leading a swinging jump-blues outfit of his own, being awarded “Best Modern Blues Harmonica Player” 3 years in a row (Real Blues Magazine) and developing “a sound that promises to re-define the role of the harmonica” ( HIP Magazine), he goes on to pay tribute to the greatest and most influential harmonica player in blues history – Little Walter Jacobs.