Danielle Ponder has shared a new single from her forthcoming debut album Some Of Us Are Brave, offering up the soul-stirring anthem “Only The Lonely.” She will also be going on tour with Marcus Mumford and Amos Lee with a stop in Los Angeles at The Wiltern on Sep. 30, as well as two stops in San Francisco at The Fillmore on Oct. 1 and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on Oct. 2. It’s the fourth track the singer/songwriter shared and like previous singles, it’s an emotional powerhouse of spoken-word magic and colossal gospel sonics.
In “Only The Lonely” she takes a hard look at the kind of pain such isolation, be it physical or emotional, can have on the heart. Delivered through her ecstatic and fiery vocals, Ponder’s words strike like lightning. “Only the lonely stay / When love’s no longer served,” she sings over the song’s stunning melody. Over the course of the song, she lays out a powerful plea for empathy and connection among the lonely.
Like previous singles, “Only The Lonely” highlights the need to lift up the voices of marginalized people. The album itself was borne out of Ponder’s time in law school (which she pursued after her brother received a 20-year sentence due to a “three strikes” law), where she read “All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: But Some of Us Are Brave.” Inspired by the voices of Black women and the realization she could uplift their voices — and her own — through music, she named her album after it.
Danielle Ponder is currently on tour with a stop at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on September 30. Her debut album Some Of Us Are Brave is out September 16 on Future Classic, pre-order it here. Visit Danielle Ponder’s website, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Danielle Ponder tour
August 26—Sacred Rose Festival—Bridgeview, IL
August 30—Tennessee Theater—Knoxville, TN
September 1—Live On The Green—Nashville, TN
September 4—Nelsonville Music Festival—Nelsonville, OH
September 7—Kennedy Center—Washington, DC
September 9—Montclair Jazz Festival—Montclair, NJ
September 10—Montclair Jazz Festival—Montclair, NJ
September 19—Boulder Theater—Boulder, CO‡
September 20—Paramount Theater—Boulder, CO‡
September 21—Paramount Theater—Boulder, CO‡
September 26—Moore Theater—Seattle, WA‡
September 27—Keller Auditorium—Portland, OR‡
September 30—The Wiltern—Los Angeles, CA‡
October 1—The Fillmore—San Francisco, CA‡
October 2—Hardly Strictly Bluegrass—San Francisco, CA
October 5—The Magnolia—El Cajon, CA‡
October 6—Ikeda Theater—Mesa, AZ‡
October 9—Austin City Limits Music Festival—Austin, TX
October 10—White Oak Music Hall—Houston, TX‡
October 11—Majestic Theater—Dallas, TX‡
October 14—Orpheum Theater—New Orleans, LA‡
October 16—Austin City Limits—Austin, TX
October 28—Suwannee Hulaween—Live Oak, FL
‡ w/Marcus Mumford
† w/Amos Lee
Words by Steven Ward
Listen to Danielle Ponder’s new single “Only The Lonely” below!
