EPK
Venue References
"Whether she's strumming her guitar or fiddling her fiddle, Joy Zimmerman brings a voice of angels to her music. I've booked her before and I'll book her again." ~Mike Paget, Green Guitar Folk House
"Hire Joy today! I have had the pleasure of working with her for 3 years now and know her to have the highest standards for her performances. She has emceed and played a show after an annual event which draws over 30,000 people to our downtown area. A true community partner and awesome artist, we cannot recommend Joy highly enough."
~Ellie Haire, Events and Marketing Manager for Downtown Overland Park
“Joy has a wonderfully unique way of connecting to her audience...she engages every audience member and wraps everyone in a blanket of beautiful music." Peggy Kelly, Open Range Concert Series
Bio
Joy Zimmerman, a soulful writer and performer, explores both the everyday and extraordinary with a captivating voice and songs resonating with humor, triumph and humanity. Joy’s seventh studio album, The Canvas Before Us, is an acoustic reinvention set for release in 2021.
Born on Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, it’s no wonder Joy is a natural writer with her songwriting recognized nationally with an American Songwriter Lyric Contest Honorable Mention and ten Walnut Valley Festival NewSong Showcase wins. Her music has been described as “vivid and alive, tender and poignant, and altogether a gift for the listener.” (Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, former Kansas Poet Laureate)
Joy didn’t pick up a guitar or write a song until mid-life, so you might say her emergence as a dynamic artist is surprising. But all the elements were there…a voice of honey waiting to be poured, insights to write about for days, and a lifelong love of music beginning with a request for violin lessons at age five.
A touring musician based in Kansas City, Joy’s performances are engaging, thought-provoking and full of opportunities to laugh and reflect. She leaves you wishing you had heard her sooner and trying to figure out how to be her friend.
Joy has recorded three albums of original music in Nashville, one live and three studio albums in Kansas City, and a forthcoming studio album in Sparta, Illinois.
Joy performs solo or in a duo or band. Past venues include Louisville Arts Center (CO), Green Guitar Folk House (KS), Stone Room Concerts (DC), InterUrban ArtHouse (KS), The Warming House (MN), InterContinental Hotel (MO), Chateau Chantal Winery (MI), Taos Inn (NM), McMenamins (OR), and Knuckleheads (MO).
An accomplished violinist on her albums, Joy was once in the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, Concordia College Orchestra, and Kansas City Civic Orchestra. She was also Assistant Music Director at Saint Andrew Christian Church, Director of No Strings Attached, and Music Leader at Crittenton Children’s Center.
Combining her background in music and social work, Joy has led interactive workshops and retreats on creativity, resilience, gratitude, grief, songwriting, and the power of music. Settings have included conference centers, hospitals, festivals, retirement centers, and other nonprofits.
“Cultivate Joy” and “Amplify Hope” logos adorn Joy’s merchandise.
