Biography:

Originally from Vancouver, WA, Nikolas Barber has become an integral force in the Eugene OR music scene. Currently playing in some of the Willamette Valley’s best up and coming acts, Barber has imprinted his own propelling, colorful, and versatile sound upon the groups he plays with. Nik first started playing the drums shortly after his older brother Aaron began playing guitar when the boys were both children. Over the span of Nik’s childhood, he became heavily engrossed in the emotive qualities of beat-oriented music, with some of his earliest inspirations being Metallica and The Beatles. While growing up in Vancouver WA, Nik attended the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, where he got to closely study Jazz and Big Band style drumming. It was during these formative years that Nik discovered his love for Jazz music, soon rising to the highest level Jazz Band in the school. During High School, Nik would go on several regional tours with the Youth Rnb/Soul Band “Heatwave” out of Palm Springs, CA. In 2016, Nik was awarded the prestigious “Shape of Jazz to Come” Award, as well as the “Eli M. and Ruthe Nadel” Scholarship from the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

In the summer of 2017, Nik relocated to Eugene OR to attend the University of Oregon’s Jazz Studies program. While in college, Nik studied with renowned Pacific Northwest Drummer Gary Hobbs, and has been a part of the Oregon Jazz Ensemble. It is with this group that Nik toured internationally, performing at the Umbria, Vienne, and Montreux Jazz Festivals. Nik is also a part of the dream-rock collective Laundry, who has opened for artists such as Mild High Club, Ritt Momney, The Backseat Lovers, and Winona Forever. Laundry has amassed over 2.5 Million listens on Spotify, as well as regularly maintains 30,000 monthly listeners. Laundry’s latest album “Movie Star” was released in 2021. In addition to Laundry, Nik is also part of the indie/songwriter group Golden Boy, Blues band Inner Limits, and has toured with the Swing Revival Band Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Nik is currently pursuing a Master’s of Music Degree at the University of Oregon under the direction of Ken Mastrogiovanni and Keith Brown.