May 6, 2015

by Curtis Killian

Around Thanksgiving 2012, after a string of tours performing with the likes of CeeLo Green and Imagine Dragons, multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter DaNiiVORY ‘08 intended to shift focus toward producing her own music. But when she received the call to play keys with Beyoncé, it was an offer she couldn’t refuse. Her second gig: The 2013 Super Bowl XLVII halftime show.

“I was still on a high that I was playing with Beyoncé,” says DaNiiVORY, who continued as a member of the superstar's all-female backing band the Suga Mamas in the ensuing Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. “The energy of that stadium was incredible that night, because we're in the middle of the field on this little stage, and there are 50,000 people all around us with glowing phones, and 100 dancers below us. It felt like magic in the air."

For DaNiiVORY, the magic is ubiquitous. In addition to Beyoncé and another all-female band backing CeeLo Green, she has toured with South Korean female K-pop sensation 2NE1, singer/songwriter Bridgit Mendler, and fellow Berklee alumni Imagine Dragons, and is currently embarking on an ambitious solo career.

Full story coming soon at alumni.berklee.edu