Samara Joy

×

Expand

Meredith-Truax

A close-up of Samara Joy.

Samara Joy

Linger Awhile, the debut album by Samara Joy, was found on many 2022 best-of lists, and in February captured an even bigger prize: Best Jazz Vocal Album at the Grammy Awards. The album revives Great American Songbook material for a new generation of listeners; Joy's singing recalls past greats while bringing something new to familiar songs, and her stylish approach also brought home the Grammy for Best New Artist. This show, rescheduled from February, sold out a while back, but a livestream will be available as well.

March 1 update: The Samara Joy performance originally scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2023, has been rescheduled to Thursday, May 4, 2023.

Existing in-person and virtual tickets will be automatically valid for the new date with no action taken by the ticketholders. Current ticketholders will receive an email about the new performance date when it becomes available. The Wisconsin Union Theater team anticipates reopening sales of in-person and virtual tickets for the event featuring Samara Joy at union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/samara-joy, by phone at (608) 265-2787, and at the Memorial Union Box Office when a new performance date becomes available. Wisconsin Union lifetime and annual members, patrons under the age of 18, and University of Wisconsin–Madison students, staff and faculty are eligible to purchase Wisconsin Union Theater tickets at a discounted rate.

media release: In-person tickets are currently sold out, but tickets to attend virtually are still available.

You may contact our Box Office at 608-265-2787 with questions.

• Tickets: $45 / $30 / $20
• UW-Madison Students: $12 / $10 / $8
• Youth (17 and under): $20
• Virtual: $25

23-year-old Bronx native Samara Joy, who recently took home awards for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album at her first-ever GRAMMYs, has shared a piano-vocal duo version of “Guess Who I Saw Today.” The stripped-down rendition of the tune, which she performed with a full band on her latest studio album Linger Awhile, features four-time GRAMMY-nominated pianist Gerald Clayton. Samara Joy reinvigorates the spine-tingling classic with her “one of a kind voice" and "ageless talent" (CBS Mornings).

Since Samara’s GRAMMY wins last month, Linger Awhile has been rapidly climbing the charts, hitting #1 on Amazon Best Sellers, Billboard Jazz, Pandora Trendsetters, iTunes and Amazon’s digital-music and CD-sales, and more. She’s garnered nearly 2 billion views on TikTok, and her tour dates all over the world are selling out, including highly-anticipated headline shows at NYC’s Village Vanguard in April. Simultaneously, outlets like Vulture are declaring “jazz is back, baby” and notable artists like Sam Smith are calling her “my favourite female voice right now.” Jimmy Fallon said “unbelievable… she is my jam!” before Samara’s recent performance of “Guess Who I Saw Today” on The Tonight Show, which marked the young vocalist’s late night TV debut. Other recent TV appearances include the TODAY Show, MSNBC, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Drew Barrymore.

Linger Awhile, out now on Verve, was recorded by Chris Allen and produced by Matt Pierson and features exemplary musicianship by Pasquale Grasso (guitar), Ben Paterson (piano), David Wong (double bass), and Kenny Washington (drums). The collection finds Samara Joy reinvigorating beloved songs and standards for a fresh audience with her timeless, irresistible sound. The tracklist is comprised of treasured songs by George Gershwin (“Someone To Watch Over Me”) and Thelonious Monk (“Round Midnight”), and also includes Samara’s original lyrics on Fats Navarro’s “Nostalgia (The Day I knew).” 

Following a string of international tour dates, Samara Joy will return to the US for performances in Detroit, Los Angeles, St. Louis, New York City, San Diego and more this Spring and Summer. For all upcoming dates, please visit https://www.samarajoy.com/.