Grammy Award-winning jazz songstress Samara Joy serenaded attendees at the ‘Ladies in Concert’ night for the 2024 staging of the Saint Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival last Thursday (May 9).

The night also showcased some of the talent pool of St Lucia’s women singers as well as Trinidadian songstress Vaughnette Bigford.

Joy, for her first performance in the Caribbean, delivered a masterclass performance as she manoeuvred her rich, sultry and at points powerful voice in her iconic rendition of Nina Simone’s ‘Can’t Get Out Of This Mood‘.

Speaking with Our Today, the songstress said she has spent the year so far growing and learning more about herself and what she wants to present to her audience. She revealed that she also has new music and visuals to be released. One area she mentioned as a focus for her is working on communication.

“Growing in communication for me means being able to express the thoughts in my head to everybody else. People often have a preconceived notion or agenda of what I want to do. Still, nobody ever really understands what I’m thinking about for myself and I want to get better at expressing the things I can see clearly in my head,” said Joy.

She mentioned that although her time on the island was pleasant, it was short, and she is hopeful to return next year with more time to experience more of the culture, food and people.

She added that her time in the Caribbean has left her curious about other islands and she is open to visiting Jamaica to perform at local jazz events.

Jamaican attendee Lois Parkes said Joy’s performance blew her away.

“While all of the performances were excellent, with each bringing their own style, Samara’s performance was sheer brilliance. She displayed a voice range that was simply breathtaking,” Parkes said.