Joy Hanson is a Brooklyn-based vocalist and composer who crafts cinematic, genre-bending songs. 

Joy discovered her penchant for songwriting while pursuing an MA in Cultural Studies at NYU, taking cues from such artistic influences as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stevie Wonder, and Joni Mitchell to cultivate a panoramic yet intimate style spanning a vast spectrum of idioms from psychedelic soul to chamber pop, all anchored in her passion for poetics and the written word. Under her project name Elysse, she released The Preludes EP in March 2021, and, in 2022, won the Cafe Royale Cultural Foundation Music Production Grant to produce her debut album, due in 2023.  

As a vocalist featured in numerous musical groups, she has held residencies weekly at Minton’s Playhouse and monthly at Soho Ludlow House, and has performed on NYC’s most recognized stages, including The Blue Note, Small’s Jazz Club, Joe’s Pub, The New York Historical Society, Webster Hall, and National Sawdust.

“Elysse herself most readily recalls Jill Scott, or better yet KING with slightly better chops, sipping at the waters of jazz and quiet storm soul, with a vulnerability that suits the lyrical arc of passion, lust, loss and regret.” – SoulBounce.

This show is curated by iamchelseaiam and made possible by the West Harlem Development Corporation and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.