Jo Lawry grew up in Australia in a family that valued music and study, and she started playing music very early. By the age of 13 she had already appeared in Les Miserables and was embarking on a musical journey that would ultimately lead her to New York.

Although she intended to have a career primarily as a jazz singer, one of the real turning points for her professionally came when she was called to audition for a tour with Sting. Since that call in 2009, she has toured and recorded extensively with him.
 
Here she talks about that journey, how she came to sing with Sting, appear in the Oscar winning documentary “20 Feet From Stardom”, and embrace her own songwriting. 

There are some real pearls of wisdom in her story. Some of them deal with big picture questions regarding education,  professionalism, and desire. And some of them are just simple truths, like the importance of checking your junk mail folder and buying a round of drinks.