Austin-based entertainer Nakia’s debut EP, “Playing the Cards,” stacks the deck with an infusion of songs rooted in old-school soul, the Allman-Skynyrd school of rock and his Southern Baptist-church-choir upbringing. Formerly a player in Fastball vet Mile Zuniga’s campy Small Stars, Nakia is now dealing a hand filled with four self-penned tunes, a never-before-recorded contribution by hit songwriter Monte Warden and a not-to-be-missed cover Billy Preston’s “That’s the Way God Planned It.”

Join Nakia as he debuts his new band, Southern Cousins including Mac McNabb, Barry "Frosty" Smith, Matt Hubbard, and Steve Zirkel. This show will also feature the "Fresh Up Girls" on backup vocals and some guests on horns as well. Nakia also turns 32 a mere 3 days after this event so get out and help him blow out the candles in style. This is an official event of the first annual "Love Austin Music" month sponsored by Austin Music Foundation, Gibson Guitar, and Budweiser.