Daniel Leonard Nigro ( ) is an American record producer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band As Tall as Lions. Nigro has produced, written, and co-written songs for Sky Ferreira, Joe Jonas, Kylie Minogue, Caroline Polachek, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Dermot Kennedy, Reneé Rapp, Maisie Peters, Conan Gray, and Lorde.
Nigro has been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards and won two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Vocal Album for Rodrigo's Sour (2021) and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2025. In 2024, He was named "Producer of the Year" by Variety Hitmaker's and Songwriter of the Year at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
Daniel Leonard Nigro was raised in Massapequa Park, New York, on Long Island, to Louis, a second-generation business owner and Claire, an artist specializing in oil painting. In his youth he took piano, guitar, and voice lessons. His sister, Alexa, co-founded the Scough fashion company and his brother, Leonard, is an international chef.
Nigro attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school. He once said that he "never felt the need to go to college", but went to Fordham University.
With Saen Fitzgerald, Cliff Sarcona and two other high school friends, Nigro formed the indie rock band Sundaze in 1998, releasing an album called "Seal of Approval", that included "King of the World", which became a local fan favorite. In 2001, he formed As Tall as Lions, with Saen, Cliff and Brian Caesar. In 2002, they released their first EP, Blood and Aphorisms. In 2003, they signed a record deal with Island and Triple Crown Records and left college with the full support of their parents to pursue music full-time.
In 2004, the band released their debut album, Lafcadio, and began touring. In 2006, after some lineup changes, which now included Julio Tavarez as their bassist while Brian left the band, they released As Tall as Lions and began a headlining tour. In July 2007, they appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. In 2009, You Can't Take It with You was released, peaking at number 88 on the Billboard 200 chart. By September 2010, the band split up. Upon the announcement of the news, their last shows sold out and more were added to the schedule. They immediately planned what would be billed as their reunion, which was performed in 2015 without new music to supplement it.
Nigro moved to Los Angeles to become a songwriter, collaborating with childhood friend Justin Raisen. He found initial success with a jingle for a McDonald's advertisement and then with Sky Ferreira. Nigro began as a songwriter then learned production as he felt belittled by producers he worked with and didnâÂÂt feel like he could exercise full creative control over his work without being a producer.
After Nigro and singer-songwriter Chappell Roan had worked together for years, Roan was dropped by her former record label. To continue writing, producing and releasing songs together, Nigro formed independent label Amusement Records.
As of September 2024, Roan is the only act signed to Amusement. Nigro also said that he does see himself signing other acts to Amusement in the future. "But it's about finding the person I want to invest 300 days of my time with," he says. "It's not simply finding an artist that I like and thinking that they're great. It's about, 'Do we feel a connection that we can spend so much time making something and then promote it and find the right creative teams and annoy you about content?' It's everything."
Nigro married visual artist Emily Williams in September 2020. Together they have two children, Saoirse and Kieran. Their daughter Saoirse can be heard in the final seconds of Olivia Rodrigo's song "Teenage Dream".