Joy Oladokun Releases Highly Anticipated New Album 'Observations From a Crowded Room'

Acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer and performer Joy Oladokun’s anticipated new studio album, Observations From a Crowded Room, is out now via Amigo Records/Verve Forecast/Republic Records.

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. Ahead of the release, album tracks “I’D MISS THE BIRDS,” “NO COUNTRY,” “QUESTIONS, CHAOS & FAITH” and “DRUGS” have received widespread critical attention from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard. Stereogum, Consequence, Brooklyn Vegan, Atwood Magazine, OUT Magazine and more.

Reflecting on the project, Oladokun shares, “This album became a way for me to write things, feel things, process things. Because, as the producer, I just had to sit with these songs for so long. It became really healing in a sense of, ‘I made this. I’m listening to an album that I genuinely love. All the sounds and bits and bobs came from me with the help of just an engineer.’ It was transformative. So, it started out as, ‘I quit,’ and it has ended up as a fresh start.” 

The new music follows Oladokun’s recent rendition of Beyoncé’s “II Most Wanted” for Apple Music Sessions and the Jack Antonoff collaboration, “I Wished On The Moon,” featured on the official soundtrack for Apple TV+’s The New Look.

In addition to supporting Hozier in Australia and New Zealand this fall, Oladokun recently announced her extensive headline tour, “The Blackbird Tour,” set to kick off in January. The run includes shows at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, New York’s Irving Plaza, Knoxville’s Bijou Theatre, with all proceeds from the Knoxville show benefiting the East Tennessee Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund. More stops include West Hollywood’s Troubadour (two nights), Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, Boston’s Royale, Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse, Denver’s Summit, Seattle’s The Showbox, Phoenix’s The Van Buren, Dallas’ Studio at The Factory and Austin’s Scoot Inn among several others. See below for the complete tour itinerary. Tickets are on-sale now, with $1 from each purchase benefitting The Ally Coalition. Full details can be found at www.joyoladokun.com/tour.

Since her breakthrough in 2020, Oladokun has released a pair of hugely 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, in the last few years, 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, Jason Isbell and Noah Kahan and has joined Morris, Isbell, Kahan, John Mayer, My Morning Jacket, Tyler Childers, Pink Sweat$, Leon Bridges and Manchester Orchestra on the road.

JOY OLADOKUN CONFIRMED TOUR DATES

November 5—Perth, Australia—RAC Arena*

November 6—Perth, Australia—RAC Arena*

November 8—Adelaide, Australia—Adelaide Entertainment Centre*

November 12—Melbourne, Australia—Sydney Myer Music Bowl*

November 13—Melbourne, Australia—Sydney Myer Music Bowl*

November 15—Sydney, Australia—Qudos Bank Arena*

November 18—Brisbane, Australia—Riverstage Brisbane*

November 20—Auckland, New Zealand—Spark Arena*

November 22—Christchurch, New Zealand—Wolfbrook Arena*

November 23—Christchurch, New Zealand—Wolfbrook Arena*

January 9-13—Riviera Cancun, Mexico—Moon Palace

January 16—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue

January 17—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall

January 18—Detroit, MI—El Club

January 20—Louisville, KY—Headliners Music Hall

January 21—Columbus, OH—Newport Music Hall

January 22—Cleveland, OH—House of Blues

January 23—Toronto, ON—The Axis Club

January 25—Montreal, QB—Theatre Beanfield

January 26—South Burlington, VT—Higher Ground Ballroom

January 28—Portland, ME—State Theatre

January 30—New York, NY—Irving Plaza

February 1—Boston, MA—Royale

February 4—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer

February 7—Washington, D.C.—The Howard

February 8—Charlotte, NC—The Underground

February 11—Raleigh, NC—Lincoln Theatre

February 13—Knoxville, TN—Bijou Theatre^

February 14—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse

February 25—Tulsa, OK—Cain’s Ballroom

February 26—Kansas City, MO—The Truman

March 1—Denver, CO—Summit

March 3—Salt Lake City, UT—Soundwell

March 5—Seattle, WA—The Showbox

March 6—Vancouver, BC—Commodore Ballroom

March 7—Portland, OR—McMenamins Crystal Ballroom

March 9—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore

March 12—West Hollywood, CA—Troubadour

March 13—West Hollywood, CA—Troubadour

March 16—San Diego, CA—The Observatory at North Park

March 18—Phoenix, AZ—The Van Buren

March 19—Santa Fe, NM—Meow Wolf

March 21—Dallas, TX—Studio at The Factory

March 22—Austin, TX—Scoot Inn

March 25—Birmingham, AL—Saturn

March 27—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium

May 5-7—Miramar Beach, FL—Moon Crush: The Sea & ME

*with Hozier

 ^Benefit show with all proceeds benefitting East Tennessee Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund

Photo credit: Rachel Debb

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