Article & Photos: Jim Summaria
Danielle Nicole/ photo: Jim Summaria
Danielle Nicole at City Winery, Chicago, October 23, 2024
By Jim Summaria
Danielle Nicole (Schnebelen-Miller), an award-winning singer/bassist/songwriter, came to City Winery in Chicago on Wednesday, October 23 and -- paraphrasing Julius Cesar -- she came, she saw, she conquered! Backed by a tight band that featured her husband guitarist Brandon Miller and drummer Kelsey Cook, the trio played a swift 15-song set that never lulled.
Danielle is an accomplished musician and has been honored with Blues Music Awards for vocals and bass playing. Her bass play tends towards a bluesy funk sound that keeps the band grooving along and she blends perfectly with drummer Cook. Her powerful, passionate vocals are what stand out. She can sing blues, R&B, soul and can rock out with the best of them. Miller is an outstanding guitarist who plays within the song and occasionally pops out with a very tasteful lead.
The Schnebelen Clan Story
The Kansas City born and raised Danielle Schnebelen was influenced by her musical family. Her father played blues guitar and her mother sang backup for the local band Little Eva. Their dad brought them to play at jam sessions when they were still in grade school. Danielle (bass, lead vocals) and her brothers Nick (guitar, vocals) and Kris (drums, vocals) formed the band Trampled Under Foot in 2000, when they were teens. The band released four indie albums and toured internationally. They competed in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2008 and won the Best Band award.
Telarc Records signed the family band in 2013; they released two discs for the label, produced by Tony Braunegal. In 2014, Trampled Under Foot’s Badlands CD on Telarc won the Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Album. At the same time, Danielle won Best Instrumentalist – Bass. The band also earned a Best Band BMA nomination.
The group disbanded in 2015. Danielle and Nick pursued their own solo careers. Drummer Kris went on to play with other bands, including Albert Castiglia and Amanda Fish (big sis to blues rock star Samantha Fish). Sadly, brother Kris passed away in January 11, 2022.
Currently, Danielle is touring to support her new album The Love You Bleed (40 Below Records) for which she wrote or co-wrote all the songs, save one. At the City Winery show, they played several songs from the album and she opened with "How Did We Get to Goodbye". With the band playing the intro on a darkly lit stage, the spotlight then hit Danielle and she created a vocal that captivated the audience with her soulfulness and passion. The crowd knew they were in for a night of pure musical pleasure.
The next three songs, all from her 2018 album Cry No More, pushed the musicians to a higher sphere that showed off the band's talent: "Pusher Man" with its R&B groove, the Bill Withers co-penned "Hot Spell" and the title track "Cry No More." She then sang her heart out on the blues song "Take It All" from her 2015 solo debut album Wolf Den. Miller added a very tasty blues solo. The band settled in a nice groove on another new song, "Fools Gold," as she pushed the limits of her vocal range.
A highlight of the evening came next when Danielle laid down her bass and Miller picked up an acoustic guitar leaving only the two of them on stage. She proceeded to emotionally sing the Etta James classic "A Lover is Forever." It was a WOW musical moment that gave me, and likely the other patrons, chills.
She followed with a nice bluesy rendition of "Burning for Your Love" with Miller adding a wailing guitar. It was one of the songs you hoped wouldn't end.
She then rattled off three more songs from her latest album. First, the country blues "Head Down Low," then the Bonnie Raitt influenced "Make Love," and finally "Love on My Brain" punctuated with a strong drum beat by Cook while Danielle delivered yet another unbelievable vocal. All three songs had Miller contributing innovative guitar work.
Danielle announced they had one more song to do and the band went all out, rocking and jamming on "Save Me." The crowd was at a fever pitch bobbing to the music with the rock ‘n’ roll salute being tossed up with each note that Miller was tossing at them. The crowd wanted more, and they got it. After playing songs off her albums all night , the band tantalized the crowd with the Joe Cocker version of the Beatles "With a Little Help from My Friends" for their encore. A sing-along ensued and then the magical musical night was over.
It's always a pleasure to see and hear bright young talent and the Danielle Nicole Band is all that and more!
And speaking of bright young talent, the show opener was Delmark Records blues-rock artist Jamiah Rogers who hails from the South Side of Chicago. Rogers put on a high energy show and he is definitely an artist to watch.
About the Author/Photographer: Jim Summaria, along with writer Mark Plotnick, co-authored the books Classic Rock: Photographs From Yesterday & Today and the October 2024 release ‘70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts, available on Amazon and in local bookstores.
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