Bravery can take many forms. For Danielle Ponder it took the shape of a leap of faith: leaving her successful day job working as an attorney in the public defender’s office in her hometown of Rochester, NY to devote herself full-time to sharing her powerful voice with the world. While working as a public defender, Danielle also toured Europe and scored an opening spot with George Clinton. In 2018, after five years as a public defender, she made the gutsy decision to pursue her No. 1 passion – music.

In 2021, Danielle performed at the Newport Jazz Festival where her performance was hailed as one of the stand-out performances of the event. 2022 was a banner year for Danielle with appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS This Morning, tours with Marcus Mumford, Amos Lee, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, and Leon Bridges. On September 16th, 2022, Danielle released her debut album, ‘Some of Us Are Brave’, on Future Classic. Written and recorded over three years, the album is a refreshingly original, shiver-inducing mix of pop, R&B, blues, rock, and moody trip-hop topped by Ponder’s celestial voice — an instrument that can plumb melancholy depths with a heartsick murmur and scrape the sky with hurricane force wails.

Danielle continues to advocate for criminal justice reform and has been an influential leader in the Black Lives Matter movement in Rochester, NY.

With Emme Cannon

Emme Cannon is an artist whose repertoire consists of flowing ballads for life’s unpopular beauties. Along with her mystical lyricism, her music combines chamber pop, indie-folk, and alternative music to create a unique feeling of being in the eye of the storm between peace and chaos. Emme has shared her “hypnotizing voice and delivery” (The Roanoke Times) with the Boston Book Festival, The Boston Calendar, the Songwriters in the Round (Part IV) at the iconic Grandin Theatre (BB King, Ray Charles), and the Two Track series where her performance has accumulated over 10K views. Her most recent release “Can’t Say No To You” expresses forgiveness and self-realization in toxic relationships. Her first self written and produced EP, Home Planet explores aspects of life beyond this realm and finding love in life’s uncertainties. She currently resides in Boston, studying Contemporary Writing & Production, and Songwriting at Berklee College of Music. 

Reservations

Table and blanket reservations are non-refundable, but can be transferred to another available date in the 2023 season.

Please Note: General Admission Donations do not include reserved seating. This is a way to make your gate donation in advance.

Table reservations seat four. 

Blanket reservations are placed in the blankets-only area of lawn and do not allow for chair placement.

See you in the park!