Nikki And The Barn Boys Take Their Talents To Texas

ORLEANS – Every band dreams of touring and taking their music around the world. Far fewer actually get to see that dream through to reality.

But Nikki and the Barn Boys are leaving their Cape Cod stomping grounds for Austin, Texas, at least temporarily. 

“I kind of had this idea to promote and move around the country,” drummer Liam Hempstead said prior to the band’s set at last weekend’s Outermost Roots and Blues Festival. “I presented it to the band and convinced everybody to get out of the cold this winter, because we hate the cold. We love Cape Cod, but we hate the cold.”

The band, whose deft blend of dream pop, rock and soul has turned them into standouts of the Cape music scene over the past five years, will spend the winter months in Austin, where they’ll play as much as possible and network with other bands populating the burgeoning American music capital. That could include shows this spring at the city’s world famous South by Southwest music festival. 

“My opinion is that it’s going to be the next big entertainment city, the next New York or LA.” Hempstead said. “The past five years, it’s grown so much, and I’m super excited to go and be a part of it for a few months.”

Guitarist Graham Hempstead, Liam’s brother, said the band has already befriended other acts in and around the Austin area, giving them hope that they’ll lock in and find their groove in their temporary home away from home.

“It’s not like a gatekeeping situation where they don’t want to give us any leads or anything like that,” he said. “They’ve all been super kind about it all. It seems like we’re going to fit in.”

After their lease is up in Austin this spring, the band plans to tour the Gulf Coast and Florida. They also have eyes on the Caribbean in March, while next summer holds the possibility of a European tour.

It’s exciting times for the Cape’s most promising local band, but frontwoman Nikki Childs said the band’s next chapter doesn’t come without the realization of everything that’s been done here on the Cape.

“I feel like bittersweet is the word that came straight to mind,” she said. “I mean, we’re so thankful for our start here. The people and the landscape, we’ve just gotten so lucky. But we’re also super excited to start in a new area and meet more people and experience new things."

“It definitely feels very surreal,” Graham added. “It’s just go go go. With the schedule this summer, it’s hard to take a moment and look at it all. But when we do, we realize we’ve come such a long way and we’ve already crossed off a bunch of bucket list items. We’re just grateful for the journey.”

The band has two more shows on its local calendar, including a set Saturday at this weekend’s Oysterfest in Wellfleet. Their final show before the move will be Oct. 21 at Hog Island Beer Co. in Orleans.

But if the move to Austin means goodbye, it’s not forever, Liam said.

“We would never leave the Cape forever,” he said. “We're going to come back and do some shows here in the summer. It’s going to be super fun.”