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Joy Dennis performs Live @ Funk Fest 2012 ft Erykah Badu, Charlie Wilson & more
Event Type: Live Music Festival / Genre: Funk/ R&B/ Soul
Event Description
Soul music recording artist Joy Dennis kicks off the 2012 festival season with her first performance slated for Variety Entertainment Promotion’s Outdoor Funk Fest Concert in Tampa, FL. Headlining the event includes, Erykah Badu, Charlie Wilson, fantasia, Morris Day & the Time and more TBA. Joy Dennis along with her band, Pleasant Phunk opens the show. Vinoy Park (501 5th Ave., NE), Tampa, FL. Gates open at 4pm Show starts at 6pm
For Event and Ticket info visit http://www.FunkFestConcerts.com
Can’t make this event? Tune in to Joy Dennis’ Official Youtube Channel and watch the action as-it-happens! Watch pre-party events, performances, interviews, tailgating, backstage quickies, commentary and more all day (April 6 & 7) on Joy’s’ official youtube channel.
To purchase Joy Dennis’ Debut CD “Music Is”
Visit http://www.joydennismusic.com (Also Available on iTunes)
To Book Joy Dennis contact: Manager, Athlene Jones: info@urbgardenmusic.com
Joy Dennis Music Is Available on iTunes
Like this:
Jacksonville singer and producer Joy Dennis finds her passion in music
Jacksonville singer and producer Joy Dennis finds her passion in music
Read more at Jacksonville.com:
View The Florida Times-Union Link
By Tonyaa Weathersbee
Joy Dennis sorted through a few hobbies and suffered through a bit of heartbreak before she found her voice.
Thankfully, it’s a voice everyone else now gets to hear.
“I started out in sports,” said Dennis, a local singer and producer. “I had cousins who went to Ribault [High School], and I went there to run track. … At one point, I was into tae kwan do, but I grew out of it.”
Then she found chorus.
Dennis had sung in her church choir as a youth, and in elementary school. But in chorus she learned the dynamics of singing, and the principals of how to sing.
“It was like a breath of fresh air to me,” she said.
Dennis, 31, is giving others a chance to sample what she’s created since then.
Last summer, she released her first CD, “Music Is.” It’s a spicy stew of songs seasoned with blues, funk, jazz, R&B and other forms of music that can spur listeners to dance, to amen or to simply reflect.
One song, “Electric Chair,” is Dennis’ remake of a blues song originally sung by Bessie Smith, then by Dinah Washington, about a woman contemplating using a knife to end the abuse she’s suffering from her man. Another is simply titled “Dear John,” about a heartbroken woman writing a letter to the one who broke her heart.
Travis Lockley, who owns Visionary Studios in Northwest Jacksonville where Dennis rehearses, said he can even relate to “Electric Chair.”
“I see it as being about how people can do you wrong in general, so much to the point where you don’t care about what happens to you if you go after them with a knife.”
But, Lockley said, he sees most of Dennis’ music as being “relaxing, lovable and soothing.”
Recently, Dennis held a party to herald the video release of “Electric Chair” and “He Awaits.” And while her future in music looks promising, Dennis said her main job as a child abuse investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families exposes her to experiences that help to shape her voice.
“With one of my videos, ‘Electric Chair,’ I wanted to give awareness to domestic violence,” she said. “Children get hurt, they get in the middle when they’re trying to break up their parents’ fights, and they’re emotionally and mentally abused just by seeing that.”
Dennis has had her share of emotional bruises herself. After graduating from Ribault in 1997, Dennis suppressed her passion for a more practical pursuit: A college degree. She majored in psychology at the University of North Florida.
She said she experienced some painful times in college. And like many of the single mothers she encounters on her job, she was also affected by growing up without her father in the home.
“My mom gave me a lot of love, and I still had a strong male influence, my grandfather, and I visited my father,” she said. “But there’s nothing like having a dad in the home.”
But, she said, she found a way through it.
“I started writing poems in college, and I went through a tough time in college, trying to go to school, trying to have a life, and at times I felt lonely when relationships and friendships ended.”
Dennis began singing again in 2004.
“I started going out to the live venues and the poetry readings, and then I would come back home and listen to my CDs and my mom’s old records,” she said. “One night I had the opportunity to sing at an open mike venue, and I was asked to come back for an audition to sing at an album release for Jill Scott. I got a chance to sing ‘A Long Walk.’ After that came more exposure and more opportunity.”
Dennis turned what used to be a hobby into a serious pursuit.
“Joy’s a very soulful artist,” said Jeremy Gray, who plays bass for her. “Everything she sings comes from life experiences.”
Said Dennis: “I plan to continue to put out good music … that can say to people, ‘You’re not the only one going through this. … I’ve been there’ “
To order Dennis’ music, go to www.joydennismusic.com, or call (904) 302-8146.
Tonyaa Weathersbee: (904) 359-4251
Lincolnville Heritage Festival ft. Kool and the Gang, Boyz II Men, Percy Sledge and many more! ( Nov 5-7, 2010 St. Augustine, FL)
The Licolnville Heritage Festival slated for November 5-7, 2010 in St. Augustine, FL. Features an Artist Line-up which includes: Boys II Men, Percy Sledge, Guitar Shortly, Joy Dennis, Michael Winslow, Willie Green, Kool & the Gang, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Lee Boys, The Jazz Ambassadors of the US Army Field Band, Gospel Sunday performers.
Hosted by Michael Winslow
Celebrate St. Augustine’s rich African-American cultural heritage at the 27th annual Lincolnville Festival. One of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, more than half of Lincolnville’s buildings date from the late 19th century. Funds raised from the festival will be used for exhibits at the Fort Mose Museum. The festival kicks-off on Friday with live R&B music, food, and arts and crafts. Then on Saturday, there will be narrated tours of historic Lincolnville featuring the civil rights movement sites in the area, live country/pop, jazz and dance music all day with more arts and crafts and a “Soul Food Contest”. On Sunday, the day’s entertainment features gospel music and more food. The Lincolnville Festival is free and takes place on Granada and Washington Streets.Friday, Nov. 2 – Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007. Friday 5:30 to 10 p.m., Saturday noon to 10 p.m. and 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday
Check the official website soon for more information!
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New music from Joy Dennis, “Music Is”
Ri Magazine Review: “Joy Dennis exhibits indie artistry at its highest caliber, definitely for the mature and sophisticated. Her vocal skill can be compared to the likes of Natalie Cole, Jill Scott and even Angie Stone. Joy Dennis’ soulful-urban-jazzy-melodic vibe hits all the right spots! She has nationally hit the Indie Circuit with her debut single “He Awaits.”
The Debut CD “Music Is” is currently on sale. Visit http://www.joydennismusic.com to download your digital copy or to purchase your hardcopy.
www.Trigenentertainment.com // Urbgardenmusic.com
