Niki Barr

Niki Barr
Niki Barr performing live in concert.
Background information
Origin	Denton, Maryland
Website	thelastyear.net

Niki Barr is an American musician from Denton, Maryland. Starting in 2013 she is the lead singer for The Last Year, a Baltimore, Maryland based alternative band.

Niki began writing, performing, and recording at age 15 and soon after, began working with Mike Marucci of Marucci Artist Management, Inc. He introduced Niki to producer, Jim Ebert. Jim and Niki worked together on her records The Other Side of Me EP, Lush, and Go EP. Lush (2005) was Niki's first full-length record and included songs co-written with Butch Walker, The Matrix (record production team), Wizardz of Oz, Matthew Gerrard, and Stephen Lironi. The single "Wasted Time" became the #1 single on Sky Radio in the UK for over 6 weeks. Soon after, Go was released as an EP, and it managed to sit atop Sky Radio for over 8 weeks in the UK.

Through her manager and friends, Niki joined forces with guitarist Island Styles, bassist Scott Von Ensign, and drummer BJ Kerwin to form Niki Barr Band. Together, the band wrote, recorded, and produced their Bloom EP (2008). The band's follow up album, entitled "Radar Radio", was released in 2010.

In 2012 the band released a cover of the Nine Inch Nails song "Closer". The accompanying music video was the first ever created by the band. As of March 2017 the video has over 65,000 hits on YouTube.

In June 2013 Niki Barr and band mate Scott Ensign formed "The Last Year". The duo was signed to a contract with Shanachie Entertainment, home to such artists as Rusted Root, Leela James, and the Flobots. A five-song EP was released on August 13, 2013. The first single from the EP, "Sugar", was released in July 2013. The band made its public debut on July 12, 2013, at The Ottobar in Baltimore, Maryland.

In November 2013 The Last Year was named the 98 Rock Band of The Month by a local Baltimore radio station. and covered in Shockwave Magazine