She has a voice that can make truck drivers cry. My first experience with Danielle Nicole was seeing the ex-Trampled Under Foot bass player perform a ballad and watching strong men with tears streaming down their cheeks. Formerly known as Danielle Schnebelen, she has now resurfaced under a different name (her middle name) but with the same power and grit that made her a powerhouse in the new generation of blues. She is the only woman that has won the distinguished honor of Bass Player of the Year at the Blues Music Awards.

Recently, the Danielle Nicole Band performed at New York’s Iridium with Nicole on bass and vocals, Mike Sedovic on keyboard, Jan Faircloth on drums and Brandon Miller on guitar. “You Only Need Me When You’re Down” is a classic Nicole original that shows her strong clarity in blues and sweeping vocal range. Miller played beautifully on his gold top, fittingly, in the club immortalized by that guitar’s namesake, Les Paul.

The band’s tour continues throughout the US and Canada as the main act and as openers for George Thorogood and Buddy Guy. Her new EP reached Number One on the iTunes Blues Chart and her upcoming album, Wolf Den, is due to be released this summer on the Concord label (featuring Grammy winner Anders Osborne). And oh, did I mention that this bass-on-fire is touring while seven months pregnant? There is strength in this blueswoman that can not be kept down.

-Laura Carbone

Photos by Jim Belmont

This slideshow requires JavaScript.