Motown legend Martha Reeves summed it up perfectly, describing Joanna Cooke as “ the baby girl singing the blues”. Joanna, much like her south west counterparts, Joss Stone and Jo Harman, demonstrates that true soul and emotional connection is not simply constrained by colour or creed. Moreover, her self penned songs leave a lasting impression on audiences, by dint of their raw honesty and song craft.

Joanna’s backstory is that she grew up in a strict but passionately artistic family, where her father’s blues records by gretas such as Howling Wolf and Robert Johnson became the soundtrack to her upbringing. Joanna had a restless desire for music. She taught herself piano on a keyboard she found in a skip and was soon writing songs that brought people to tears.

Fast forward a few years and this self-sufficiency, drive and talent now sees Joanna performing with big name artists, supporting the likes of Rag N Bone Man and Paloma Faith and playing her own shows at both festivals and venues.

Cutting her teeth with 3 initial EPs all of which drew positive reviews, 2021 saw Jo step it up a gear releasing 2 notable singles, ‘No Stranger To The Blues’ and ‘ Give It Up’. Both were recorded 100% live with the renowned Masterlink house band (aka the multi-million streaming band ‘Redtenbacher’s Funkestra’…Both tracks attracted international airplay…

2022 saw the release of Joanna’s 6 track EP, ‘Kaleidoscope’…The stylish arrangement and production comes from well respected polymath musician/producer/arranger Mark Edwards…who brings out the very best from Cooke and her songs.

www.joannacooke.co.uk