Welcome to the latest in a week-long series of spotlights profiling the bands and artists performing at the Boston & Beyond party at SXSW, a collaborative effort between Berklee College of Music and Vanyaland. Our second-annual event — and Berklee’s 10th SXSW party overall — goes down Thursday, March 19 at Austin’s Brush Square Park, 409 East 5th St., next to the Convention Center. The party is co-presented by Berklee Alumni, The Red Room @ Cafe 939, and Heavy Rotation Records, and is all ages and open to SXSW badge holders. The public can email sxswrsvp@berklee.edu to attend free of charge. An oyster bar will be provided by Island Creek Oysters, and VanyaRadio will be streaming all the performances. More info and music links can be found here.
Joy, 12:15 p.m. set time
We’re helping bring a fair bit of Joy down to Austin this year. Literally.
Los Angeles r&b/soul singer-songwriter and producer Joy Daniels — now going simply as Joy — is a rising voice on boast coasts, connecting her time at Berklee with a reputation as an innovative hip-hop performer and vocalist on the West Coast. Daniels’ 2012 album Joy After The Rain still sounds as vital and fresh today as it did on its release date, with tracks like “Heavy” And “Cruel Summer” burning up online playlists.
According to her bio, Daniels has performed recently with Stevie Wonder, Sam Smith, and Bastille in concert; and has taken her vocal talents to The Ellen Degeneres Show, The American Music Awards, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Writes Rap Rehab last year after Daniels released her jaw-dropping cover of Martin Gaye’s still-relevant 1971 social awareness anthem “What’s Going On?”:
“Singer-songwriter Joy Daniels always comes with something fresh, inspiring and difficult to categorize, and her cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” is no exception. With the help of her longtime touring band, Joy reinvents this classic social commentary that seeks answers in a world of chaos and uncertainty, incorporating elements of R&B, gospel, hip hop and alternative rock, and channeling artists like Jill Scott, Lalah Hathaway and Robert Glasper.”
Rise up.
Follow Joy Daniels on Twitter @joyforthepeople
