{"id":15456,"date":"2026-04-29T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sunburntcountrymusic.com\/?p=15456"},"modified":"2026-04-28T23:06:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:06:33","slug":"interview-nikisha-priest-on-the-ace-up-her-sleeve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunburntcountrymusic.com\/2026\/04\/29\/interview-nikisha-priest-on-the-ace-up-her-sleeve\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW: Nikisha Priest on the Ace Up Her Sleeve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Watch the full interview on YouTube<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d prefer to listen to this interview on the podcast, subscribe on <\/strong>Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/a> or <\/strong>Spotify<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Nikisha Priest<\/a>\u00a0is a country rock artist from the Lake Macquarie area of New South Wales who, at twenty years old, is already drawing on a remarkably deep well of musical training. Her new single is ‘Ace of Spades’ \u2013 and no, it’s not a cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Priest began singing lessons at six, privately with a family friend who within a year concluded she couldn’t teach her anymore and referred her to the Conservatorium of Music in Gosford. She studied there from seven to fourteen, classically trained in voice. Through high school she attended a Big Picture Academy, a project-based learning programme that allowed her to structure her studies around music. At twenty, she has already attended the CMAA Academy of Country Music, appeared on Australian Idol<\/em> \u2013 where she sang Pink’s \u2018Trouble\u2019 a capella outside her mother’s hair salon, without notice, for her audition \u2013 and released her most fully realised single to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Ace of Spades’ was sparked by a car park moment. Priest was thinking about the Mot\u00f6rhead song, wondering how other artists had approached the same title, when she noticed a playing card sticker on the car next to her. She took it as a sign, went home and wrote the song. Research into the card\u2019s symbolism gave her the song’s backbone \u2013 the Ace of Spades as a death card on one side, new beginnings on the other \u2013 a theme of transformation, leaving behind what no longer fits, and stepping into something new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The song kind of just wrote itself,\u2019 she says in this new interview, which was recorded while Priest was at a SHE Songwriting Retreat, run by Lyn Bowtell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The single was produced by Simon Johnson at Hillbilly Hut, with whom Priest has worked since a school-age work experience placement, and the video<\/a> was shot in a single day at Full Throttle Ranch in Buttai near Newcastle by videographer Jeremy Minett of Eyes and Ears Creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she\u2019s not making music Priest is looking after her five pets \u2013 and I asked her about these, partly because I know so many people have cats and dogs and love a good animal story! And it turns out that Priest\u2019s pets are thematically named \u2013 although you\u2019ll have to watch or listen to the interview to find out what the theme is \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Ace of Spades\u2019 is out now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to \u2018Ace of Spades\u2019 on\u00a0Apple Music<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to \u2018Ace of Spades\u2019 on\u00a0YouTube<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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