photo: Ben McBee

Danielle Nicole started out performing with her brothers in Trampled Under Foot. After 15 years with that group, during which she garnered notoriety as both a bass player and lead vocalist, she set off on a solo career. Nicole and quickly distinguished herself with her 2015 debut Wolf Den. The two records that followed, 2018’s Cry No More and 2024’s The Love You Bleed both received critical acclaim and hit #1 on the Billboard Blues Album chart.

On August 28, Forty Below Records will release her anticipated follow-up to The Love You Bleed. Nicole recorded  Fireflies with producer Tony Braunagel in her hometown of Kansas City. The sound builds on a familiar blues palette yet pushes into a resonant soul realm. Working with Braunagel, guitarist Brandon Miller, and keyboard player Jim Pughduring the Fireflies sessions, she notes, “It felt so organic and spontaneous. Jim Pugh has a uniquely creative approach to the keys, where he can sound traditional or completely out of this world, depending on what you need. Brandon is so creative, too; he writes beautiful, brilliant sections that challenge me as a singer. I wanted us all to develop these songs together, in the same room.”

Today we premiere the “Take Me Back” with North Mississippi Allstars guitarist Luther Dickinson. She notes that the song “is a greasy, psychedelic stomp about shedding a life you once thought you craved to become one with the earth again.” The song is available for pre-save and the album can be pre-ordered as well.

Danielle Nicole is about to embark on a brief European tour before kicking a series of U.S. dates in support of Fireflies, then returning to Europe for an extended run in November.