Nicole Sweeney

Nicole Sweeney is a Queens-born, Long Island-raised music lover. Growing up in New York with West Indian parents, she was surrounded by all types of music every day and the influence of jazz was constant.

Nicole received her B.A. in Communications from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA after taking a seven-year hiatus which originally started out as a "semester break". Going back to school as a more "seasoned adult", Nicole took her education very seriously; while working and going to school full-time, she obtained three internships with Temple Update, Good Day Philadelphia, and Temple University's public radio station, WRTI.

With jazz always being a part of her life, she quickly fell in love with the music and became very focused on her position at WRTI-FM. Shortly after the internship ended, Nicole was hired at WRTI-FM and after graduating, decided to move to Atlanta where the broadcasting industry was growing.

She was hired at WCLK-FM for a temporary Sunday shift and within months was hired for the weekly Midday shift which she held for over 6 years. Nicole grew her Midday audience by giving them a mix of classics as well as a nice dose of the "here and now" of jazz. Nicole also hosted the popular monthly "Friday Jazz at the High Museum of Art" for two years, as well as being the preferred emcee for jazz concerts at major venues such as Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, Emory University's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts and Clayton State University's Spivey Hall.

She has interviewed jazz legends such as Ahmad Jamal, McCoy Tyner, Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Benson as well as legends in the making such as Robert Glasper, Christian McBride, and Esperanza Spalding. She feels jazz music should not be put in a box and considers herself a vessel of the music, constantly quoting the Pharoah Sanders piece "The Creator Has a Master Plan" when referring to her journey within the music.