Connections

Danielle Ponder on her new song, 'Power'

By Evan Dawson,

Published June 18, 2026 at 2:37 PM EDT

A woman with long dark hair wears large gold earrings and a white off-the-shoulder dress. — Danielle Ponder

International music star and Rochester native Danielle Ponder is back in town. She'll headline the Rochester Juneteenth Festival on Saturday, where she'll perform her new song, "Power."

Ponder has signed to Dead Oceans, in partnership with Phoebe Bridgers.

She joins us on "Connections" this hour to discuss the new song and a trip to Senegal that inspired it, her craft, songwriting in the current moment, and more.

Our guest:

Danielle Ponder, singer-songwriter

Connections

Evan Dawson

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.

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Megan Mack

Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.

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Julie Williams

Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.

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