Born in Cincinnati in 1956, Ricky Nye is a versatile and skilled piano player devoted to blues, boogie-woogie and the New Orleans piano styles of folks like Professor Longhair and James Booker. Nye spent three years working with blues guitarist Big Ed Thompson and has recorded with such musicians as James Harman, Junior Watson, Francine Reed and Darrell Nulisch. In addition to performing solo, Nye also works around Cincinnati and the tri-state area with two bands, the Red Hots (a hard-rocking quartet that plays New Orleans-style R&B) and the Swingin’ Mudbugs, at clubs and events like Tall Stacks and the Queen City Blues Fest. Nye, who is showcased at major boogie woogie festivals and concerts in Europe, returns the favor by showcasing the finest European blues and boogie stylists and U.S. players at his annual Blues and Boogie Woogie Piano at the Southgate House in Northern Kentucky each fall.  Along with the CDs that capture that annual event, he can be heard on his own albums include Piano is Fun, Quick ’n’ Dirty and Snapshot, a solo outing.