14° and Clear
Image
Photo by Maddie Mulligan. The Nikki Hill Band performed at the Fallout Shelter on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
7-20-2025 12:21am
Mesmerizing Performance by Nikki Hill Band with Laura Chavez at Fallout Shelter
Darlene Cancell
Editor
By Maddie Mulligan
Rounding the corner of an unassuming old mill building in Norwood, it’s difficult to picture how a live recording studio with intimate seating could exist just in the basement.
But on July 17th, the faint reverb of bass, drums, and vocals seeped through the Fallout Shelter’s door as the Nikki Hill Band with Laura Chavez took to the stage for a mesmerizing performance.
With every seat in the cabaret-style theater filled, the Fallout Shelter’s latest performance brought constant energy through a mixture of blues, gospel, and rock music. Hill, the band’s lead vocalist, was dancing and belting from the very first song—and not once did her energy falter.
Jumping into a cover of “Every Time I See You I Go Wild” by Stevie Wonder, Hill exuded soul as her powerhouse vocals rang out through the room. With dim lighting with drums for shades, cozy seating for two, and music posters covering every inch of wall space, the Fallout Shelter was a perfect venue for a bluesy band such as Nikki Hill’s.
Finishing up its newest renovations in the spring, the Fallout Shelter freshened up its seating, stage, and bar area. Raising money from patrons meant that the renovations should be all about using the money in the way they set out to, according to Bill Hurley, the Fallout Shelter’s owner and mastermind behind operations.
“When we fundraise and when we do these kinds of renovations on the place, it's always just to enhance the experience of the audience and the musicians,” said Hurley.
Utilizing the new bar and seating, many of the patrons were tapping their feet with a drink in hand throughout the entire show. Putting drinks down to clap, the crowd was constantly invigorated by Hill’s prompts to clap, sway, or repeat after her.
Starting “Strapped to the Beat” by stomping her white high-heeled boots on beat before the band kicked in, Hill managed to get the crowd going even more as the bluesy rhythm kicked in. The crowd kept its enthusiasm as the band then performed a newer song before “Don’t Talk,” which exhibited Hill’s gravelly, seasoned voice.
Hill’s no stranger to the Fallout Shelter, having performed once before. Sharing her appreciation for smaller venues like the Fallout Shelter, Hill encouraged the audience multiple times to keep supporting venues like it now more than ever.
The ability to bring nationally touring artists, like the Nikki Hill Band, to the small stage was the goal for Hurley. While Boston hosts bigger shows, the audience Hurley had in mind is one that wants an earlier, more intimate show.
“There’s a lot of people in the general western suburbs of Boston that are, they're a little older, they're in, you know, 50s and 60s, but they still want to go out, they still want to see live music. They still want to have a cool community of people to hang with,” said Hurley.
This community is what sold out the Nikki Hill Band’s performance and what prompted people even as far as from Cape Cod to make the show. Every seat was filled, many scrambling to find two seats together as the show began.
Hill reveled in the crowd’s energy, often taking breaks to talk to the audience about the importance of some of her songs. Such was the case with “Tell the Next World,” her gospel-style song which she wrote to appreciate the roots that rock and soul have to thank for their existence.
Laura Chavez, the band’s guest guitarist, shined with a well-practiced and emotional solo that left much of the crowd stunned. Many of the songs the band performed featured impressive guitar solos from the band’s other guitarist, Matt Hill. Playing with clear intensity and passion, both Chavez and Matt Hill owned the stage anytime they stepped up to the forefront.
Performing some unreleased songs before finishing out the set with “Struttin’,” every person was on their feet to either dance or give a standing ovation by the performance’s end. Cheering until the band took to the stage for its encore, Hill had one more song in her to show just one thing—that, in the end, she’s a rock and roller.
Covering AC/DC’s “Rocker,” the Nikki Hill band showed that each and every one of its members is truly a rocker. From Hill’s naturally soulful, throaty voice being unleashed to Matt Hill falling to his knees to shred a guitar solo, the Nikki Hill band ended its performance on an outstanding bang.
As is the case with every performance at the Fallout Shelter, the bands don’t need to be seen live to be enjoyed. Livestreaming every show on YouTube and Facebook with its Extended Play Sessions, the Fallout Shelter has an archive of 1,500 shows and up to almost 5,000 videos on YouTube for people to enjoy from home.
Thanks to Maddie Mulligan, student at Boston College, and head editor for the arts section of The Heights, an independent, student-run newspaper, for contributing this article to Westwood Minute. Ms. Mulligan is interning with Westwood Minute for the summer.
