Nicola “Nicky D” DiSebastiano, born in Abruzzo, Italy, immigrated to the United States of America in 1958, at age four, and settling in Baltimore MD. Nick was influenced by his Godfather, an accordionist, and at the age of 10 began taking lessons from him. By the age of 15 he was performing solo, at the Polish Veterans, and other Polish Clubs in the area. By the time he was 18, Nick had formed his own orchestra called The Originals, primarily specializing in Italian, but also included Latin and Pop music, for a period of 12 years. During this time, he also performed with a local polka band called Bay City Brass.  In 1985 he joined forces with Steven Matousek on drums and as a duo formed The Hylites of Baltimore, which some years later morphed into Charm City Sound.  In 2001 his arrangement and performance of “Marina”, with Charm City Sound, was voted favorite song by the USPA, and his arrangements and original compositions can be heard on all of Charm City Sound CD’s, six in total.  In 2010 Nick joined The Polka Family Band, performed on four of their CD’s and currently performs with them on a regular basis.  He was a member of The Boys since 2017 until their final appearance in February of 2024. Nick is currently a member of Frank Liszka’s Blue Magic.  In 2021 Nick recorded a solo performance of Italian accordion songs that included a few original compositions. His rendition of Fizarmonica Impazzita “Crazy Accordion Polka” won the IPA’S International Song of the Year award.  He has served as an Elector for the IPA since 2018.  Nick is also quite active in performing repairs, tuning, microphone and midi system installations on accordions and concertinas.  Hobbies include Boating, Fishing, Bowhunting, wine making, and fireside antics.

Nick has family genealogy from Italy. Listen to Nick’s bio in Italian!