Over the last six months, Napa vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Nedy has emerged as one of the region’s most promising pop artists. Her latest EP, Through the Fire, released last summer, was heard on rotation over the airwaves of Napa Valley’s 99.3-FM the Vine, and she embarked on a multi-state tour last fall.
In the new year, Nedy is looking to expand her reach and share her slick and sophisticated beats with a larger audience. She performs her first gig of 2019 at the Blue Note Jazz Club in downtown Napa on Jan. 15 as part of the venue’s Locals Night showcase series.
Growing up in a musical family in Los Angeles, Nedy played piano, guitar and drums in her teens. After several unsuccessful attempts to begin a band, Nedy decided to take voice lessons. “I wasn’t able to find a committed band at the time,” she says. “I was wanting to not depend on other people for my dreams and goals of doing music professionally.”
Training her voice over the course of a year, Nedy struck out on her own in 2012 with her debut EP, Got Music, which largely featured her solo on guitar in a singer-songwriter fashion. Shortly after that debut EP, Nedy moved to Napa with her fiancée, and though that relationship ended a few years back, she says the North Bay’s tight-knit music community made her decision to stay an easy one.
“I developed a lot of close friendships and working relationships [in Napa],” she says. “I have more of a foundation here than going back to L.A.”
In 2017, Nedy made her official return to music with the single “All Coming Down,” which heralded a new pop-oriented sound—a sound solidified on Through the Fire, which combines heavy pop, alternative rock and hip-hop influences. “Like a lot of artists, I think I’m sensitive,” she laughs. “I just try to be honest about who I am and where I’m at.”
Nedy developed the sound while recording the EP, and hit upon an aesthetic akin to groups like EDM-pop duo Chainsmokers and synth-pop vocalist Halsey.
Performing live, Nedy often combines her vocals with graceful, largely improvised dance moves. “I’m just being myself,” she says. “It was scary at first, but I needed to have that courage to do what I desire to do, which is perform.”
