Nicki Bluhm

In the spirit of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and all the other songwriters blessed with the ability to fight political misdeeds with the power of song, Bay Area singer-songwriter Nicki Bluhm penned her own rootsy protest anthem, “Remember Love Wins,” in February, inspired by President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

“The roots of each tree of each family, began in the soil overseas,” Bluhm croons, accompanied by Mother Hips’ Greg Loiacono on acoustic guitar.

All download proceeds of “Remember Love Wins” benefit the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Planned Parenthood.

Bluhm’s tune is a subtle reminder that compassion yields more productivity than exclusion. The song is also a taste of more solo original material to come in the near future. Bluhm’s last several years have been dedicated to her bands Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers and Brokedown in Bakersfield, an all-star tribute to the songs of Southern California master trainhoppers, like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. The Weekly caught up with the songstress after her first day of recording a new solo record (her first solo work in nearly a decade) in Memphis. In addition to the excitement surrounding the album, Bluhm is also revved up to make her debut singing with longtime New Orleans dance favorite the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (2:25pm Sunday, June 18), at the Monterey International Pop Festival.

Weekly: You’ve been performing and touring with other bands for awhile now. The focus has somewhat been shifted away from you by your own design. What’s it like to get back in front of audiences on your own?

Bluhm: I’ve only done a couple completely solo performances so far. Last year, I did a lot of shows with [acoustic bluegrass outfit] the Infamous Stringdusters, which led to a lot of collaborations and guest singing. That’s been really fun, educating and eye-opening to work with so many different musicians, and see how other people do their thing.

As far as my thing, [the solo gigs] were really vulnerable, but also very empowering. It’s been a learning curve, but I really enjoy it.

Was it easier the second time?

Yes, but I was on home turf. I had my family and friends in the audience. Just being in San Francisco felt supportive. I was lucky both times to be in front of really lovely audiences who were connected. Like everything, I’m sure the more I do it, the more natural it will feel.

You’ve performed with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, and you’ll be performing with Lesh and the Terrapin Family Band in Central Park in August.

I love the Grateful Dead. My oldest brother was really into them, so I grew up listening to a lot of the them. I was able to get a lot of those songs into my psyche at an early age. It’s helped me out later in life.

Obviously, playing with Phil is a real honor. He’s just an inspiring person to witness; he’s a hard worker who’s very committed to the music. One of the biggest reasons he’s an inspiration to me is his work ethic. He works really hard, but doesn’t have to. When he opened his venue Terrapin Crossroads, I think he played every night of the week for a year.

To continue that amount of commitment to the craft, because he truly enjoys playing music, is inspiring. Phil does things with grace and kindness.

How’d you connect with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band?

I have good friends who live in New Orleans, so I stayed for awhile and got really into New Orleans music. It was in my rotation. One night, when another New Orleans band was playing, I thought, “It would be so fun to sing with them.” A lot of those brass bands don’t really have lead singers. I found myself in the audience dancing my tail off, and I’d come in singing stuff.

When I was asked to do Monterey Pop with some formation of a band, I thought it would be really fun to do something with a New Orleans brass band. We asked Dirty Dozen if they would collaborate with me and they said yes. It all came out of wanting to sing with that kind of energy behind me. To have that mix with my California style – what is that going to sound like? – I still have no idea, but I’m excited to find out.

Have you rehearsed or put together a setlist?

We do have a setlist going, but I’m going to let it be a surprise and encourage people to check it out.

I don’t know if it will happen again, but we’re excited to try it out and see where it goes.