Danielle Nicole

DANIELLE NICOLE : Contemporary Blues 

Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Danielle Nicole has spent her life making music and pleasing fans, domestically and abroad. Her stunning new album, The Love You Bleed on Forty Below Records, comprises twelve heartfelt tracks exploring themes of love, loss and perseverance.

The new album was produced by Tony Braunagel (Taj Mahal, Eric Burdon, Robert Cray) and co-produced by Nicole, with John Porter (B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Bryan Ferry) mixing. The tight knit quartet on the songs features Danielle on bass guitar and vocals; Brandon Miller (electric, acoustic, pedal steel, mandolin, and 12-string guitar), Damon Parker (keyboards); Go-Go Ray (drums), and Stevie Blacke (violin and cello).

Nicole was initially influenced by her parents. She recalls seeing her father playing blues guitar and her mother singing with the group Little Eva. With her two brothers, she became a member of Trampled Under Foot, which found initial popularity in the Midwest. Danielle embarked on her solo career with Wolf Den (2015), which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Blues charts and amassed 7.5 million Spotify streams. Cry No More (2018) followed, the record was nominated for a Grammy in the contemporary blues category and debuted at number one in the Billboard Blues Charts – it also boasts over Spotify streams in excess of 10 million.

Nicole has been inducted into the Kansas City Hall of Fame and has been the recipient of seven Blues Music Awards. She recently did a duet with Dion on the upcoming song "I Aim To Please," and recorded the opening track in the forthcoming Peter Hutchings film "Which Brings Me To You."

There has been no shortage of praise; Guitar World stated, "Danielle Nicole has won respect and admiration throughout the American blues scene for her soulful, inventive playing and tireless work ethic." Blues Music Magazine effused, "Nicole brings it, bakes it, and serves it up blazing on a silver soulrocking platter." The Kansas City Star declared, "Blues and soul vocalists tend to improve as they age. Bettye LaVette is among the artists who became increasingly believable as she matured. Danielle Nicole appears to be following in her footsteps." And the legendary Koko Taylor gets right to the point: "That girl gets down to the nitty gritty!"

At the beginning of the The Love You Bleed recording sessions; Danielle Nicole knew this new album would be different from those in the past. "Maybe that's because over half the songs are about falling in love and not falling through the destruction of it," she says. The album is full of love, loss, will, determination, and all the other things that go together with love. "Make Love" is about consciously pushing past the pain, choosing love, family, and community in life's difficult moments. It uplifts the message of love and togetherness in the face of hardship." "How Did We Get to Goodbye" with its raw and honest lyrics, document a soured love that bears no hero or villain, asking how you get to such a place of disrepair without even knowing it. And Love On My Brain, is a potent hybrid of vintage R&B and driving blues, begins as a flirty feeling inside and turns to an overpowering need and deep desire. Right By Your Side is a vintage soul/R&B ballad about never making the mistake of watching "the one" walk away again.

The Love You Bleed gives Nicole a solid place that music has always provided in dealing with love and loss. "It's been a difficult relationship listening to music outside of professional reasons since the passing of my brother Kris," she says. "But just being honest in my writing and direction, I find when I'm the truest to myself, that's when the magic happens. Not trying to find perfection in it so much, but engulfing myself in every moment and being there with the audience is when fun things can happen inside and out." Many of those feelings are captured in all the songs on the album.

There is a powerful sense of self in The Love You Bleed, taking the new songs to the place Nicole envisioned they could go. "I want to consciously move forward in the natural evolution of my songwriting and singing," she says. And as I grow as a person, a woman, a mother.”

Danielle Nicole Awards and Accolades
*2023 Blues Music Award Recipient: Instrumentalist - Bass
*2023 Blues Music Award Nominee: Instrumentalist - Vocals
*2022 Blues Blast Music Award Recipient: Bass Player of the Year
*2022 Blues Music Award Recipient: Instrumentalist - Bass
*2022 Blues Music Award Nomination: Contemporary Blues Female Artist
*2021 Blues Music Award Recipient: Instrumentalist - Bass
*2019 Grammy Nomination: Contemporary Blues Album - “Cry No More”
*2019 Blues Music Award Recipient: Instrumentalist - Bass
*2019 Blues Music Award Recipient: Contemporary Female Blues Artist
*2019 Blues Music Award Nomination: Instrumentalist - Vocals
*2018 Inductee Canada South Blues Society Hall of Fame
*2018 Independent Blues Award Recipient Contemporary Album - “Cry No More”
*2018 Independent Blues Award Recipient Contemporary Song - “Cry No More”
*2018 Independent Blues Award Recipient Music Video - “Cry No More”
*2018 Blues Blast Music Award Recipient - Contemporary Blues Album - “Cry No More”
*2016 Blues Blast Music Award Debut Artist

Trampled Under Foot
*2017 Inductee: Kansas Music Hall of Fame
*2014 Blues Music Award - Bass Player of the Year
*2014 Blues Music Award - Contemporary Blues Album
*2014 Blues Blast Music Award - Rising Star
*2014 Blues Blast Music Award - Band

WITH SPECIAL GUEST : MICHAEL MORROW & THE CULPRITS  

MICHAEL MORROW & THE CULPRITS has cultivated their style of Hard Rock Countryfied Blues in the Rocky Mountain Region and Mid-West over the Past 10 years. Recently, they just got back from a series of shows in the United Kingdom.

With the release of their Fifth album, GREATER THAN GRAVITY, they have further expanded their sound. Around the Sun, their lead track off the album, continues to find new listeners.

Michael Morrow sites Hendrix, Page, Frehley and Gilmour as his guitar influences but his true heroes are vocalists. ‘When you first hear a band from a distance, you’ll feel whether they are tight but you'll hear if the vocals are flat' ‘We always strive for an energetic show’

Steve Haywood, bassist and native of Cambridge, UK was influenced by McCartney, Sting and The Clash. His roots being 70s English Pop Rock. He is our liason to all thing British

Kristian Wallis, drummer, possesses a wide musical background. Other than his unique drumming, he is quite engaging and at nights end is the ambassador to anyone who crosses his path.

Song Titles such as ‘Rock and Roll Ain’t Never Paid My Bills', ‘Seven Years Bad Love’ and ‘Cherry Blossom’ almost paint a picture.

This band is ROCK N ROLL!