Willow Stephens enjoys a good cry. Willow's new EP, A Good Cry, provides the space for emotions to flow and for resilience to begin. This highly introspective, thematic record sets a mood that allows the listener access to their own feelings about relationships, tragedies and perseverance. During this livestream episode, we talk with Willow about the new record and she performs three songs live from the Joy Sounds studio including "Good Man," "Empty Room," and "Till the Blue Comes Out." To check out video of this session, visit the Joy Sounds Instagram page or YouTube channel. Follow Willow @willow_stephens. Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconnection.com Follow the Joy Sounds livestream at twitch.tv/joysoundsmusic

This is a livestream replay from April 10, 2021 with my guest, music industry lawyer, Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. Erin is a passionate advocate for independent musicians to make sure they are legally protected and negotiates agreements for them to be properly paid. Erin is the owner and founder of Indie Artist Resource (www.indieartistresource.com) and author of the book, Don't Get Screwed! How to Protect Yourself as an Independent Musician. In this livestream episode, we talk with Erin about the common pitfalls and opportunities for independent musicians. For more info on Erin's work, visit www.themusicindustrylawyer.com. Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconnection.com

Luna Shadows lives life in digital and analog. In her debut album, Digital Pacific, Luna Shadows takes the listener on a sonic road trip through her view of California while reconciling life in the digital world and in the real world. The album has been hailed by critics as “luminous,” “highly emotive,” and described as “dark pop with a taste of anarchy.” During the show, Luna Shadows performs three songs from Digital Pacific in a live, stripped down setting. She performs “nite swim,” “trash tv,” and “The Nineties.” Follow Luna Shadows @lunaxshadows Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconnection.com

Joy Sounds has launched a livestream channel at twitch.tv/joysoundsmusic. We have an amazing line-up of performances, interviews, writers in the round, and other events scheduled that you won't want to miss. Go to twitch.tv/joysoundsmusic and follow us. We'll notify you everytime we go live. Still prefer the traditional audio podcast? Don't worry! We'll post audio of all of our events for you to check out wherever you get podcasts. Thanks for supporting Joy Sounds and for supporting independent musicians. We'll see you at twitch.tv/joysoundsmusic

Emma Negrete felt lost in translation. After a year of living and working abroad in China, singer-songwriter Emma Negrete discovered herself as an artist and person. The experience inspired her to write “Lost in Translation” which became the first single from her debut EP, Algorithms. On this episode, Emma talks about and shares music from her new EP as well as looks forward to the release of her upcoming full length album. We also hear three songs from Algorithms including “Lost In Translation,” “Magma,” and “Living In the Post.” Follow Emma @emmaanegrete Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconnection.com

Crisis Couture is on a mission. Nu metal band, Crisis Couture, is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, Brendan McKian and he wants to make metal accessible to all! And he’s well on his way - Crisis Couture’s latest single “Radiant” is the trailer music for the popular comic book, Radiant Black. And, the band’s first single, “Waiting For the World to Burn,” caught the attention of System of a Down’s Serj Tankian who gave the band his endorsement via Instagram and Twitter. During the show, we’ll hear both “Radiant” and “Waiting on the World to Burn” as well as “We Are Stars” from the band’s most recent The Gold EP. Follow Crisis Couture @crisiscouture Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconection.com.

Courtney Fortune says, “if you can tell a story, you can write a song.” Not only is Courtney an acclaimed singer and songwriter, she is also a sought after mentor as the founder of Songmaker Sessions, a program which helps young songwriters improve their skills and confidence. Courtney has performed and written songs for Atlantic Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Japan and Disney among many others. During the episode, we’ll hear three songs from Courtney, including “You Make It Easy,” “Numbers Game,” and “Let Me Go.” Follow Courtney @courtneyfortunemusic Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconnection.com

Tower of Power is still going strong. Tower of Power commemorates their 50th anniversary with a new record, 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater – Oakland, CA arriving March 26th. We talk with co-founder, band leader, and saxophonist, Emilio Castillo, about this landmark accomplishment and how they developed their signature “Oakland Sound.” We also talk with Emilio about how special it was to return to Oakland’s Fox Theater for their golden anniversary concert. During the show, we hear three tracks from the new record – “Soul With a Capital S,” “You Ought to be Having Fun,” and “You’re Still a Young Man.” Follow Tower of Power @towerofpower Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconnection.com

Kat Reinhert has found her dead reckoning. In her new record, Dead Reckoning, the New York based singer-songwriter brings together a collection of confessional songs that draw heavily from an important transitional time in her life. In addition to talking about the new record, Kat talks about balancing all the facets of her musical life including being a singer, songwriter, recording artist, educator, author and scholar. During the episode, Kat performs three songs from Dead Reckoning including “Bird Song,” “Gather A Line,” and the title track. Follow Kat @katreinhert Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconnection.com

Sad Park started as a lie. Back in high school, Sad Park took a gig by claiming to be a band when they hadn’t yet formed one. Since then, the LA based, pop-punk band has gone on to have numerous sold out shows in LA and has toured the West coast while amassing over a million streams of their songs.  We talk with Graham Steele, Sam Morton and Grant Bubar of Sad Park as they are releasing singles in preparation for a new record that follows the release of their debut album titled, Sleep. Also during the show, we’ll hear three songs from Sad Park – we’ll hear “I Should,” “In My Head,” and “Over and Over.” Follow Sad Park @sad_park Presented in partnership with Music Connection www.musicconnection.com