I take my seat in the Temperance. The venue is already nearly full. I look around and wonder. Is anyone seeing Danni Nicholls for the first time? Leamington Spa is not my usual stomping ground. An eighty mile round trip is often a put off when the artist frequently plays a show nearer to home. The upside when the Temperance wins the day is a wonderfully compact basement venue; intimate, evocative and carrying the most beautiful sound. OK, the latter is dependent on the artist but quality is a team effort. Among the many unfamiliar faces in the crowd (a handful have made the trip from my ares or are familiar from the gig circuit), I would like to think there are some Danni Nicholls newbies. We all discover new artists at different times. The key is the impact they make. Many established acts will cross my path for the first time in 2025. Danni Nicholls isn't one of them.
In this crazy fast paced modern world, we are prone to consuming our info intake in excess. New experiences however do keep the mind fresh. There is a particularly strong appeal to listening to new music for the first time. Balance is the key when things gush like torrents into your leisure mind pool. The counter to the new is the anchor of the familiar. Dependable names you may take for granted but have a habit of providing you timely reminders. Danni Nicholls is among a group of independent grassroots musicians assuming the role of personal anchor. A deluge of new artists threaten to wash them away, yet they are smart, durable and have developed a soldered connection with those hitched onto their musical journey.
I have written about Danni Nicholls many times over the last dozen years. In 2024 I passed on two occasions, even though there was plenty to say in light of new developments. Maybe sometimes the voice just isn't there or at least the fear of repetition dampens the urge. 2025 is sizing up to be a Danni Nicholls resurgent year. There is a promise of a follow trip to this short January excursion, that probably couldn't have been timed better. Good luck progressives in Tennessee. The centrepiece of the year will be a fourth main studio album, though minor efforts like TIME and HEAVY SHOES still have a place in a canon of work. New Danni Nicholls records have a lengthy run up. Half the new album was played this evening and from a hazy memory, it was nearly the case six months ago in Birmingham. Rest assured there will be a starburst in good time and songs floating around the web in clips will be become solidified three-minute bodies of work. The future is bright.
The present was a blissful evening in Leamington Spa. Old tunes retain a spark; newer ones evolve with maturity. Vulnerability can both ground an artist and fuel a creative streak. The odd sip smoothes the path and soon song and word are in full flow. The journey can sometimes appear chaotic without a clear narrative arc. Underpinning the moment is oodles of class. Something repeatedly shouted about and occasionally heard.
Let's simplify a decade into Bedford to Nashville to Leamington Spa. There was a flashback in the Temperance to Maverick Festival 2011. Maybe a Danni Nicholls newbie tonight will embark on a similar journey.
Normal service will be resumed on these pages with the album release and subsequent tour. In the meantime, an evening at the Temperance felt different, in a good way.
Dreams can take you far and wide
when reason submits to the heart.
A truthful path to the other side
where awaits a brand new start.
