Nick Balkun is an American rock musician who is best known for his work with his band, Balkun Brothers. Nick was born Hartford, CT USA and he has been playing drums for over 20 years. The Connecticut native has studied with various teachers since he began playing, including notable drummers Tim Alexander (Primus), Jaimoe (The Allman Brothers Band), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Tony Royster Jr. (Jay Z / Katy Perry), David Garibaldi (Tower Of Power) and Mike Mangini (Dream Theater). Nick also worked with the University of Connecticut marching band while in college as well as taking private drum set and marching lessons at UConn. He specializes in rock, metal, funk, and blues drumming while also being trained in jazz, Latin, punk rock and world drums. Some of Nick’s biggest influences include Taylor Hawkins, Dave Grohl, Mikkey Dee, Mitch Mitchell and John Bonham. Nick has recorded and toured with various bands including Balkun Brothers, Gary Hoey, Three Wheeled Fonk Cirkis, Phonosythesis, The Search, Cashed Fools, Pool Shark, and many more. In 2016, Nick was awarded ‘Top Percussionist In Connecticut’ by the Percussive Arts Society Of America.
Nick is currently touring with his award winning rock n’ roll band, Balkun Brothers. Balkun Brothers has shared the stage with acts such as Johnny Winter, Gary Clark Jr., Joe Bonamassa, James Cotton, Gogol Bordello, Devon Allman, Melvin Seals and JGB, Eric Sardinas, The Mike Dillon Band, Dopapod, Vapors of Morphine and many more. The duo has also been featured on major festival line-ups alongside The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Motley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Slayer, Iggy Pop, and Elvin Bishop.
After being voted 'Best Blues Band in Connecticut' at the Connecticut Music Awards for 4 years in a row (from 2013-2016), the band was most recently awarded 'Best Rock Band in New England' at the 2017 New England Music Awards. Brothers Nick and Steve, independently produced and released their debut album in 2015 entilted, 'ReDrova', which was well received and rose to #1 on the Roots Music Report Blues-Rock album charts and was #5 on the Roots Music Report overall Blues charts. Balkun Brothers signed with European label Dixiefrog Records in 2015 and released their much-anticipated second album, 'Devil On TV', with Dixiefrog in May of 2017. In 2019, the band released, 'The Sun Studio Sessions', a collection of cover songs and originals recorded live at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, TN.
The duo released two singles, produced by Eddie Roberts (The New Mastersounds), on Color Red Records in early 2020. Their punk rock album, 'Here Comes The End Of The World', was released in late 2020 on Auto Bon Records. The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies, Iggy Pop) at Electrical Audio Recording in Chicago, IL and mastered by Bill Skibbe (Jack White, The Black Keys, The Dead Weather) at Third Man Records in Detroit, MI.
Following the success of this album, the band released their 2021 EP, 'The Paris Penthouse Party'. The EP was recorded at Basement Studios in Paris, France and mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, England.
On his mission to spread rock n' roll across the universe, Nick Balkun has toured extensively throughout the United States from coast to coast and has also completed six European tours since 2015, performing in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. Nick owns and manages his own recording studio, Nük Lab Studios, in Griswold, CT. He has produced, engineered and recorded a number of bands and solo artists since opening his studio. When he is not on the road touring, Nick has been teaching drums to students for over ten years and is endorsed by Dope Stickz, SJC Custom Drums, Treehouse Custom Drums and Jerry Harvey Audio.