DWIGHT & NICOLE BIO Music pours out of Dwight & Nicole. They have just arrived in Boston after a taxing four-hour drive from their home in Burlington, Vermont, yet there is Dwight, sitting on a couch, holding a guitar and joining Nicole for a surprise version of Roy Orbison's sweetly enchanting "Blue Bayou." The sound fills the room, enhanced by added guitar from their producer, Milt Reder, whose gorgeous home studio, Rear Window, is where Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson have recorded their last two albums. "I LOVE Roy Orbison!" Nicole says when she completes the song. Frankly, Dwight & Nicole love all kinds of music, which is evident on their new, aptly titled CD, "Shine On," an inspiring mashup of folk, blues, pop, jazz, gospel and reggae styles. The album can't be categorized easily, but that's fine. "I don't want to do just one thing," says Nicole, who won the latest Boston Music Awards nod for best female vocalist. The new album is the culmination of an exciting year in which Dwight & Nicole not only bonded more than ever personally and professionally, but which saw Nicole make a national splash on the popular NBC-TV show "The Voice." She startled the judges by singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which was then released as a single and became a hit on iTunes. One judge, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, said Nicole has "one of the most powerful voices I've ever heard." Another supporter, poet Maya Angelou, simply calls her "magnificent!" Nicole sang on "The Voice" alone, but that ability to stun and elevate people is what both Dwight & Nicole do. A re-recorded version of the prayerful "Hallelujah" is on their new "Shine On" album, which is filled with positive lyrics and a healing spirit -- witness such tracks as the new single "Top of the World" (with Nicole belting "I want to be on top of the world ... I want to fly!"), the reggae-flavored "Smile" (penned by Dwight), the horn-drenched "I Need Love" and the soaring "Saturday." "The songs are inspired by our love together and trying to look at the world's bright side," says Dwight. Adds Nicole: "It's not about the bright lights/big-city lights. It about the inner light." Or as producer Milt Reder says, "There's a spirituality to it without it being heavy-handed. It has a lot to do with the way their relationship is." But first, let's step back and look at how these two got together. Dwight is from Long Branch, New Jersey ("one town over from Asbury Park," he beams) and he grew up surrounded by music. His grandfather, Al Reinhardt, had a big band in the '40s and played stride-style piano. Dwight started as a drummer but also picked up the guitar when he fell in love with Buddy Guy. He also dug funk and rock (his next door neighbor was Tico Torres, the eventual drummer in Bon Jovi's band). Dwight's early group was called Red Beans, which put out a prophetic album called "On the Way Up" in 1999. He then released two albums with his own Dwight Ritcher Band, named "Drive Around Town" (2002) and "Radioman" (2004). Nicole grew up in Brooklyn and was likewise exposed to diverse influences. She was the first professional musician in her family but she was steered toward jazz by her dad and R&B by her mom, who loved Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan. But a tragedy occurred when her brother died of asthmatic complications when he was just 12. That sent Nicole into a shell of shyness -- and music was her lifeline back. "I dove into music as a healing tool. The energy of the songs pulled me up," she says. The two singers met at the Yard Rock Cafe, a club just outside of Boston, in 2001. "I wanted to be a songwriter and when I met Dwight, I was floored by his songwriting skills. And we had a tremendous amount of chemistry," Nicole says. Dwight felt the same way and recalls, "Our voices really sat well together. We both sit a little behind the beat and it works well." They released an EP entitled "Dwight & Nicole" in 2006, then came their albums "iSigns" (2010) and the new "Shine On." Along the way they met producer Milt Reder and "that was the train that changed our lives," says Dwight. Milt is not only a great guitarist -- he played with Barrence Whitfield & the Savages for a long while -- but his Rear Window studio is a magnet for creative artists. Susan Tedeschi made a Grammy-winning album there and Terry Adams of NRBQ has been another client. But Milt has paid extra attention to Dwight & Nicole and has had them stay often at his sprawling, 100-year-old Victorian home. "Dwight has a huge musical head," says Milt. "He was originally a drummer but he can also sit down and play boogie-woogie at the piano in addition to his guitar playing." As for Nicole, he says, "She has a once-in-a-lifetime voice, but it took a while for her to find her way. When you can sing like everybody from Aretha Franklin to Dinah Washington, it's hard sometimes to find your own style." They have both found their collective way now. "They're stretching on the new album," says Milt. "It's a nice combination of old and new. They're progressing, but if you liked their first album, you'll like this one too." They have also become in demand on the tour circuit, playing everywhere from Tanglewood to the Blue Note in Manhattan, while sharing stages with the likes of Natalie Cole, Dr. John, and Carly Simon. A special irony is that the duo received a monumental boost from Nicole being watched by millions of people on "The Voice," yet she does not own a television set herself. "I'd rather have a good conversation and a stiff drink," she says. Now that's old school. But as long as she continues to electrify audiences and write exquisite songs with Dwight, that's what counts. -- STEVE MORSE, former staff music critic at the Boston Globe for nearly 30 years and currently teacher of a course in Rock History at Berklee College of Music. He also served a seven-year term on the nominating committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame