Boston based soul singer Joya Abbott-Graves, was born
and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts. After
receiving an M.M. in voice performance at Umass
Amherst, Joya moved to Boston to pursue a career as a
singer, performer, songwriter and voice teacher. Between heart breaks, adventures, day jobs, and performances as a dancer, comedienne and singer, Joya began to write her own tunes and formed what is now called The Joya Band.
TJB has performed at Boston venues and special events
such as: Felt, The Rack, Tribe, Coolidge Corner
Theater, MIT Kresge Little Theater, All Asia, the LBGT
Aging Project, Grrl Rush, Boston NOW fundraiser, and Shine. Joya
and her band were featured as Pick of the Week on Kiss
108's Matty in the Morning.
In the spirit of Jazz and HipHop, the Joya Band features many different players. Frequent contributors include: vocalist/rapper, CJ Azubuine; lyricist/rapper, Mystyque; Berkshires own (or is that San Fran's own?;)) vocal percussionist SimmyB; Hiroshi Sembon, drums; Aman Mahajan, keys; Louis Andre Ochoa, bass; Penny Larson, percussion; Henrik Lindqvist, guitar; Chris Takita guitar and recent additions... Iyeoka Okoawo, spoken word; Aine Fujioka, percussion; and Anna Fernandez-Buehrens, violin.
Guided by her ear for melody and passion for rhythm,
Joya writes songs that deliver a story with
unforgettable tunes and bumpin' beats. The Joya Band will rock your socks off with
a jazzy, old school r&b, neo-soul style that you will
not soon forget.
In addition to her work with TJB, Joya is a gospel & classical soloist and choir member at St. Paul's Cathedral in downtown Boston. She also can be found singing covers all over Cape Cod and New England for the special events bands, Accent and Big City.
Joya currently lives in sunny Dorchester, MA with her spouse Libz and her dog Bunny.
