John Nilsen @ The Allison
John Nilsen is a pianist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and one of the Pacific Northwest’s most successful performance and recording artists. Nilsen’s label, Magic Wing, has a catalog of twenty titles, all distributed internationally. Many have been licensed in countries outside the United States, including Germany, Great Britain, The Philippines, Canada, Taiwan and Singapore. John Nilsen’s record sales far exceed a million copies, a rare accomplishment in the music industry. 240 of his compositions and arrangements receive performance and mechanical royalties.
Nilsen is a native of the Pacific Northwest. He was born in Seattle and raised primarily in Portland, where he has been a resident for many years. Nilsen began studying piano from his mother at age six and taught himself to play guitar at age twelve. He attended Southern Oregon University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He loves to get out on the rivers, into the forests and onto the mountains of the region. The people, landscapes, weather, and tenor of life in the Pacific Northwest have influenced Nilsen’s musical themes.