Janice Jo Lee is bringing her eclectic mix of spoken word and music to Found Books Nov. 9, in an evening that promises to be “disarmingly funny, poetically-rich, and leave audiences rejuvenated and aglow.”
Her promotional material says Lee commands the stage, conjuring warm energy. One reviewer recently said, “When she sings the tumbleweeds stop and take notice, the light pollution dims and you can see a star right in front of you.”
In an interview, she said she’s looking forward to the Found Books experience and tried to outline what to expect that night.
A keen observer of world events, she notes how so many people are grieving right now, and how music can help salve some of those wounds.
“We’ve been practicing quite a bit, and I’m just reminded that music is medicine,” Lee said from Toronto this week.
“When we sing harmony, it can uplift. And some of my songs talk about struggle and burnout, and how important it is to feel seen and heard through our struggles, and feel healing,” she said.
Which is not to say it will be all about the darker feelings.
“It’s also going to be pretty funny,” she said with a small laugh.
“So funny, delightful, but also soothing, and healing, I would even say,” she added.
The concert at Found is one of 12 shows her trio will do in 16 days, from Saskatchewan to BC.
The English literature grad said doing a “sort of cocktail thing in a bookstore is right up my alley.”
Lee is a second-generation Canadian settler and twenty-seventh generation Korean. She is a contemporary folk-roots-jazz singer songwriter, composer-sound designer, spoken word poet, theatre maker, and arts/anti-oppression facilitator.
She is a queer femme truth-teller and satirist. Her work explores gender justice, antiracism, friendship, community, ancestry and the Earth. She is touring with her trio: Camilo Diaz-Varela on vocals and guitar, Y Josephine on vocals and cajon.
Lee’s new album “Ancestor Song” launches worldwide on Nov. 1.
Many songs depict water as a force of healing, power, drowning and destruction. On stage she performs theatrical spoken word pieces and sweeping songs built on layers of cascading harmonies.
Doors open at 7 pm, show starts at 7:30. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.ca.
