REVIEW | Danielle Ponder wows a sold-out crowd 

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It was an auspicious Friday night on University Avenue.

Essex, a new music venue from SCN Hospitality, opened its doors for the first time — launching with a homecoming show from beloved Rochester musician Danielle Ponder.

The anticipation in the air was tangible, as Essex is poised to be successor to the now-defunct Anthology as the preeminent mid-sized venue in the city. And if this first show was any indication, Essex can help rejuvenate a local music scene in desperate need of more legitimate venues. But before Danielle Ponder and her band arrived to charm the sold-out crowd, another Rochester artist started the proceedings.

Equally gifted as both a rapper and as a singer, Chicago native James Boykins — AKA Chi the Realist — brought an ideal combination of intensity and positivity to his opening set. Boykins is a passionate, vulnerable performer. Despite his confidence and command of the stage, he was devoid of swagger, and nothing about his persona felt rehearsed. Here’s hoping we see more of Chi the Realist, a supremely likable artist with something to say.

Danielle Ponder’s rise to prominence in the music industry over the last few years has been well-documented. From recognition in NPR’s 2020 Tiny Desk Contest and nationally televised performances on late-night talk shows to her 2022 tour with Marcus Mumford and a heart-to-heart encounter with Eddie Vedder last week, Ponder has arrived — definitively.

She began her Friday night set by taking the stage alone with an acoustic guitar, evoking her early days as an aspiring musician playing in Java’s on Gibbs Street. Ponder made it clear this concert was a full-circle moment, a homecoming signaling her arrival on the international music scene as a bona fide star.
Singing a rapturous version of Lauryn Hill’s “The Passion” followed by her confessional original song “Thoughts,” Ponder skipped the formalities and introductions perhaps needed with audiences she had encountered on tour. Instead, the hometown crowd was treated to what felt more like a conversation among friends.

Throughout Ponder's set — itself a love song to Rochester — the soulful singer-songwriter took time between songs to remember pivotal moments in her evolution as an artist: the people and places that made a difference in her life, as well as personal moments that inspired her songs.

No singer sounds as resolute as Ponder in her golden moments. But as powerful as her  instrument is, she possesses a quiet charisma that’s equally disarming. As she poignantly delivered songs about strength gained through personal struggle, she was relaxed and humorous between songs. “Don’t break up with people for dumb things, everyone is annoying after six months,” she advised before a captivating version of “Only the Lonely,” from her debut full-length album “Some Of Us are Brave.”

Ponder’s voice seemed to soar higher as the show continued, as if fate had called and the Rochester native had answered. After finishing the song “So Long,” Ponder removed her false lashes and handed them to someone in the crowd, saying, “Save those for the Hall of Fame, girl!”

Ponder was fully in the moment, so much so that “Roll the Credits” morphed into a kind of guided musical meditation. “Can you feel your heart, the beating of your chest? Can you feel your lungs,  the in and out of breath? What a joy it is to be alive,” she said.

Ponder plays a second  sold-out show at Essex Saturday, with Sheneiqua Shine opening.

Daniel J. Kushner is an arts writer at CITY. He can be reached at [email protected].