Five-time Grammy Award winner and breakout jazz sensation Samara Joy will bring her timeless voice to The Joan for her debut Sydney performance on Thursday, October 23, as the headliner act for 2025 Sydney international women’s jazz festival.
Celebrated for her rich tone, refined phrasing, and love and understanding of the Great American Songbook, Joy will be joined by her outstanding seven-piece band for an unforgettable evening of jazz.
Few figures in jazz history have experienced the kind of meteoric success that vocalist Samara Joy has, especially at such a young age. Just 25, Joy has achieved the kind of profile typically reserved for pop celebrities. A native of the Bronx, Samara Joy became entranced by classic R&B as a child and cut her teeth as a singer in her church’s gospel choir. She didn’t delve into the jazz tradition until college at SUNY Purchase. During her studies there she won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, which introduced her to the larger jazz scene as a rising star to watch.
Her performance history reads like a who’s-who of the most legendary venues and events in jazz and R&B, with appearances at the Newport, Monterey, and Montreal Jazz Festivals, as well as iconic stages like the Apollo, Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, and Jazz at Lincoln Centre.
Joy’s 2022 Verve Records debut Linger Awhile won her two Grammys, including best new artist, and its follow up Portraitcements her as one of jazz’s most vital new voices.
Joy will play at The Joan on Thursday, October 23, at 7.30pm. Tickets from $89. See thejoan.com.au.
