Danielle Ponder is an American musician and lawyer. Before becoming a musician, she worked as a public defender. She released her debut album, Some of Us are Brave, in 2022.
Early life
Ponder is from Rochester, New York and was born in 1982.[1] At home, her father often played an instrument or sang. As a teenager, she received her first music equipment, a guitar, from her father.[2]
Career
Legal career
After college, Ponder attended law school at the Northeastern University School of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor in 2011.[3] Following this, she worked as a public defender in the Monroe County Public Defender's Office.[2] In 2018, she pursued music but eventually returned to the legal field.[1]
Music career
In December 2021, she left her public defender position to pursue a career in music.[1] In 2022, she performed on Late Night with Seth Meyers.[4] In the fall of 2022, she released her debut album, Some of Us are Brave.,[1] which featured 8 songs characterized as a mix of soul, R&B, and trip hop.[1] In April 2023, she performed on General Hospital.[4] In August 2023, she performed at Lollapalooza.[5] In September 2023, the deluxe edition of Some of Us are Brave was released, featuring one new song, a demo, three live recordings and a remix by Georgia Anne Muldrow.[6] That new song, Roll the Credits, was later used by Apple in their iPhone 16 advertising campaign in October 2024.[7] The song was also used in the end credits of Dragon Age: Veilguard.
