JOY OLADOKUN’S NEW SONG “NAZARETH”
OUT NOW

RAISED NEARLY $25,000 FOR THE ALLY COALITION WITH EXTENSIVE HEADLINE TOUR

SELECT SUMMER DATES CONFIRMED

April 18, 2025—Acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer and performer Joy Oladokun’s poignant new song, “Nazareth,” is out today in conjunction with Good Friday and Easter weekend. Listen/share HERE.

Of the track, written and produced by Oladokun alone, she shares, “For the better part of five years I’ve been on the road. From Hope, Alaska to Gulf Shores. From South Africa to Australia. From arenas to small clubs. I’ve gotten to see the best and the worst of the world and of myself. I started writing this song last year in a dressing room on tour with Hozier and I finished recording it in the back lounge of my tour bus as it raced across the U.S. at the beginning of this year. I think at this moment in our world in culture—where transphobia, queerphobia, xenophobia, racism and classism flow down freely from the highest positions in our power structures—you can feel so many people looking for hope and safety in any place they can find it. I relate to that search deeply. This song is for anyone who is hoping the world is kinder and safer than it can appear to be at times. Releasing it as the world celebrates Easter seemed like the obvious choice.”

The release adds to a landmark year for Oladokun, who recently wrapped her extensive headline tour, which included sold-out shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, New York’s Irving Plaza, Seattle’s The Showbox, Minneapolis’ First Avenue and more. Featuring her highest ticket sales to-date, the tour raised $24,976 to help support LGBTQ+ youth with $1 from each ticket benefitting The Ally Coalition. Oladokun will perform select shows and festivals this summer, see below for complete tour itinerary.

The tour followed the release Oladokun’s critically acclaimed album, Observations From a Crowded Room, this past fall (stream/purchase here). Written, produced and largely performed by Oladokun alone, the album marks a personal and creative turning point for the Nashville-based artist and was crafted during a period of intense introspection and questioning. The 15-track collection—comprised of 12 songs and 3 spoken interludes—finds Oladokun reflecting on her place in the world, both as a person and an artist, while blending her pop-folk roots with electronic and psychedelic elements.

Critical acclaim for Observations From a Crowded Room:

“one of the great singer-songwriters pushing beyond roots or conventional singer-songwriter music today…her most ambitious record so far”—NPR Music

“stunning”—Billboard

“One of the most refreshing voices coming out of Nashville... there’s a deeply honest quality to her music that makes her hard to shake.”—Consequence

“The self-produced album, a first for the artist, clearly benefited from that approach, with brutally honest lyrics that hit like a punch to the gut”—them

“electrifying…the epic closing song, ‘Goodbye,’ an elegant masterpiece Paul McCartney would envy”—No Depression

“the most vulnerable, confessional, and compelling lyrics she’s ever sung”—Atwood Magazine

“Joy Oladokun has proved herself a unique voice of her generation”—The Indy Review

“a transformative experience for the artist and listeners”—HYFIN

“[Oladokun] has always wowed her audiences with her soulful folk sound and evocative storytelling, but her fifth studio album, Observations From a Crowded Room, feels like a fresh start for the beloved artist.”—Sweety High

Since her breakthrough in 2020, Oladokun has released multiple acclaimed full-length albums—2021’s in defense of my own happiness and 2023’s Proof of Life—both of which landed on numerous best-of-the-year lists. Of Oladokun, The New York Times praises, “her songs are conversational and confessional, and her hooky but profound melodies turn her lyrics into mantras,” while Rolling Stone calls them, “Nashville’s most low-key musical revolutionary…in this time of shifting priorities away from work toward self-care and connection with others, Oladokun is offering a master class in those subjects” and NPR Music asserts, “She has a remarkable ability to distill how forces at work in the world…she can make even social and political protest feel like an intimate, warmly human act.”

Moreover, Oladokun—a proud queer Black person and daughter of Nigerian immigrants—has performed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “CBS Saturday Morning,” “TODAY,” PBS’ “Austin City Limits and NPR Music’s “Tiny Desk (Home) Concert” series. Oladokun’s music has also been included in the Al Sharpton documentary, Loudmouth, CBS’ “CSI: Vegas,” NBC’s “This Is Us,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC’s “Station 19,” NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and HBO’s “And Just Like That,” while her song, “i see america,” was also selected as a finalist for the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Award, Best Song for Social Change. Widely respected by her peers, Oladokun has collaborated with artists such as Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Jack Antonoff, Jason Isbell and Noah Kahan and has joined Morris, Isbell, Kahan, John Mayer, Hozier, My Morning Jacket, Tyler Childers, Pink Sweat$, Leon Bridges and Manchester Orchestra on the road.

For more information, please contact Asha Goodman, Catherine Snead 615.320.7753 or Carla Sacks 212.741.1000 at Sacks & Co.

JOY OLADOKUN CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
April 26 /// North Charleston, SC /// Riverfront Park
May 9 /// Miramar Beach, FL /// Moon Crush: The Sea & ME
July 5 /// Asbury Park, NJ /// Stone Pony Summer Stage+
July 6 /// Wilmington, NC /// Live Oak Bank Pavilion+
July 7 /// Asheville, NC /// Asheville Yards Amphitheater+
July 15 /// London, U.K. /// Somerset House
July 25 /// Skokie, IL /// Out of Space
August 10 /// Portland, ME /// On the Ocean Festival
September 12 /// East Aurora, NY /// Borderland Music Festival
September 19 /// Bristol, TN /// Bristol Rhythm & Roots
September 26 /// Columbia, MD /// All Things Go Music Festival

+supporting Gary Clark Jr.

www.joyoladokun.com