I just got a hangout invite from my new friend, Hayley at Google-Austin. What a groovy hangout, too! She’s got Nakia (with  guitarist Ulrich) on and it’s just rockin’!

Now, you probably know I don’t see a whole lot of TV, so this is a brand new find to me. A bit of background:

 Austin-based, Alabama-raised singer/songwriter Nakia has a heart that beats to the rhythms of Muscle Shoals soul, pumping blood infused with Stax funk to cells lined with Chicago blues grooves. His vocal talent is the kind that instantly turns listeners into fans — among them CeeLo Green, who invited Nakia to sing on his Muppets Christmas special.

On his new EP, Drown in the Crimson Tide, releasing March 5 on the Something-Music label, Nakia unleashes that voice on six songs he wrote in collaboration with top-tier artists including Barry Goldberg, Bleu, Chris Seefried and Brian West.

The latest EP will be out just in time for SXSW in Austin with 6 songs included. Nakia says that the song he’s most excited about is the first they did in the hangout, “Tight”

On Cee-Lo Green “Cee-Lo is larger than life… I look up to him as an artist and person… meeting and getting coaching was great, but then performing with him was just mind-blowing.”

They’ll be performing tonight in Austin – get the details here.

Want a great introduction? Just click “play”…