From the first notes of her new album one truth becomes self-evident: this girl oozes groove. There’s so much funky, bluesy soul coming out of her, you wonder if her heart beats in syncopated time.

The Kansas City-raised daughter of musicians already had a solid blues foundation, but she found that groove — or new variations of it — in New Orleans, where she worked with GRAMMY®-winning producer-guitarist Anders Osborne to craft Wolf Den.

You can hear and feel that Big Easy influence snaking through each of the 12 tracks on Wolf Den, from the tasty jazz-blues licks of “It Ain’t You” to the chunky Voodoo-Chile crunch of the rocker “Didn’t Do You No Good.” The funk gets particularly delectable in “How You Gonna Do Me Like That,” “You Only Need Me When You’re Down” and “In My Dreams,” which showcase Nicole’s versatility and range with nods to gospel and girl-group pop as well. (“Take It All” shows further appreciation of that genre; it’s one more example of Nicole’s willingness to both pay homage to and build on what came before.)

Nicole calls the sound “blues-based roots,” and it’s clear those roots reach deep — straight to the melting-pot heart of American music. She discovered them early, thanks to her parents and big-band singer grandmother. When Nicole’s father heard her belting out Koko Taylor’s “Never Trust a Man” at age 12, her destiny was clear.

Influenced by artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Paul McCartney, the Neville Brothers, Sarah Vaughan and Janis Joplin (the latter of whom she recalls, “…a white girl playin’ the blues; I could relate…”), Nicole started gigging at 14 and picked up the bass at 18, when she and her brothers decided to join forces as Trampled Under Foot. As that band wound down after 13 years, Nicole formed her own band.

Danielle Nicole and her band are currently in the middle of her first tour as a solo artist.  A full list of upcoming dates is below:

Danielle Nicole Tour Dates

10/5/15            Vienna, VA                                          Jammin Java

10/09/15          Detroit, MI                                         The Fillmore

10/10/15          Kalamazoo, MI                                   Kalamazoo State Theatre

11/10/15          Boise, ID                                             The Reef                                            

11/11/15         Spokane, WA                                       Big Dipper

11/12/15          Seattle, WA                                         The Barboza

11/14/15          Portland, OR                                       White Eagle Saloon

11/17/15          Santa Cruz, CA                                   Moe's Alley Blues Club  

11/18/15          San Francisco, CA                              Biscuits and Blues          

11/19/15          Los Angeles, CA                                 The Mint

11/21/15          Phoenix, AZ                                        Rhythm Room                        

11/27/15          Wichita, KS                                         The Cotillion Ballroom

12/19/15          Davenport, IA                                     Redstone Room

www.daniellenicolekc.com

https://www.facebook.com/DanielleNicoleBand