Some music artists have out-of-the-box sounds, while others make music that sounds completely out of this world. Jess Joy is a New Orleans-based multi-disciplinary artist who alchemizes life’s experiences — love, joy, death and pain — and transforms them into experimental, audible and visual art expressions.
With a background in art therapy and corporeal miming, Joy naturally gravitates toward expressing her emotions through art. The 36-year-old Baton Rouge native started her music career as a rock band singer with no professional vocal training for the band, Moon Honey. After 10 years of gaining popularity and touring as a group, the band parted ways and Joy began her solo career in 2019.
Since her solo debut, Joy has released two albums: “Patreearchy” and “Sourceheiress.” Joy says the 2021 “Patreearchy” album is childlike and playful, examining the roots and fruits of patriarchy. “Soureceheiress,” a visual album released in 2023, tells a story of reclaiming her power, rediscovering her spirituality, and viewing herself as divine. Each track on the album has a corresponding music video, giving the viewer a peek into Joy’s vivid imagination, costuming and storytelling skills.
Joy has a distinct sound. Her vocals fall somewhere between a high-pitched songbird chirping sweet melodies to electropop music and an alternative Snow White singing freely to nature’s inhabitants. Her music is more than theatrical voice changes, impressive vibratos and energizing tunes. The lyrics are deep, heartfelt and often heavy.
“I feel like I’ve always been an existential person, meditating and thinking about death,” Joy says. “I feel like it’s a compass in my life to make decisions, take things seriously and remember that this is all temporary.”
This year, Joy plans to crank up the theatrical voice changes, stretch out the length of her songs and dive deeper into experimental art expression in a new album slated to release in May. The 2025 conversational album discusses trying to attach and belong to this world amidst simultaneous crises, Joy says.
In a time when music gets pigeonholed into becoming a viral TikTok or Instagram Reel audio, Joy’s adventurous and refreshing approach to song-making stops listeners in their tracks, encouraging them to listen closer, feel more and peel back the layers that each body of work presents. jess-joy.com
