As the 2-headed driving force behind onyx&honey., Rob Perna and Nikki DiGiorgio are a musical love story that has become the heart and soul of the music scene in West Chester, PA.
West Chester is a bit of an island unto itself.. it’s not too far from Philadelphia but it is not what you would call a Philly satellite either. It’s a unique scene that has had its fair share of cyclical change and Grateful Dead cover band over-saturation. 💀 But it also has a great annual Porch Fest, the Turk’s Head Music Festival, alignspace (where we all met), and a whole lot of very kind and talented musicians, who are just looking to be seen and heard.
And it is against that backdrop that onyx&honey. stands out.
Rob Perna has had a long, consistent presence in West Chester, starting his still-active band New Kings of Rhythm roughly three decades ago in the 10th grade. Then you have Nikki DiGiorgio - an emo-at-heart singer songwriter, who began her musical journey as a girl with an acoustic guitar writing songs and singing Spill Canvas covers in coffee houses and on YouTube when she was about sixteen. Jump to 2024 and Nikki and Rob have been together for five years and have for the past four been making music together.
As the founders of Look Around Music and Arts Festival, they have given the original music scene in their hometown a shining annual event, with its third iteration happening on August 24. 2024.
Their latest studio release - Love Has Disarmed Me - is a funky blend of Rob's musical upbringing of RHCP, Talking Heads, and Jimi Hendrix, combined with Nikki's pop sensibilities and female energy.
These two are truly some of my favorite people.. musicians fighting the good fight in their art and within their music scene. They've created a space for themselves and like-minded artists based on community building and passion and West Chester is all the better for it.
Their individual personal stories are incredible and the evolving story of their partnership is inspiring. I hope you enjoy our conversation!
~ JKF ❤️