Kansas City blues musician brings home two prestigious national awards
Kansas City musician Danielle Nicole was a double winner at the 47th annual Blues Music Awards this month in Memphis. The award, which members of the Blues Foundation decide by vote, is considered the highest honor in blues music.
Nicole, 42, has 10 in her career after her May 7 wins for Contemporary Blues Female Artist and Instrumentalist — Vocals.
The vocalist and bass guitarist was one of only three double winners in the 26 categories, highlighted by Ronnie Baker Brooks for Entertainer of the Year, D.K. Harrell for Album of the Year (“Talkin’ Heavy”) and Tedeschi Trucks Band for Band of the Year. Tommy Castro, who like Nicole is a regular at Knuckleheads, was named Blues Rock Artist of the year.
Two other Kansas City acts were finalists in their categories: Brody Buster in Best Emerging Artist Album for “Redemption” and Hudspeth & Taylor in Acoustic Blues Album for “Kimuziki Live in Des Moines.”
Nicole made her name in Kansas City with her brothers, Nick and Kris Schnebelen, in the popular band Trampled Under Foot from 2000 through 2015. It won the Blues Music Awards’ Contemporary Blues Album of the Year in 2014. Kris Schnebelen, a drummer and vocalist, died Jan. 11, 2022.
After going solo, Nicole earned a Grammy nomination in Contemporary Blues for her album “Cry No More” (2018), which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues charts. Her most recent release, “Love You Bleed” (2024), was No. 1 on Billboard Blues, Amazon and iTunes.
Nicole will perform June 20 at Knuckleheads and will tour Europe in November.
