Toronto native, steelpan artist and composer, Joy Lapps, is an award-winning instrumentalist of Antiguan and Barbudan descent who treats the steelpan as a tool for engagement, and anchors her artistry in a profound, community-centered musical tradition.  She is a 2022 Grammy nominee, and a Juno award winner. 

In her new release, Girl In The Yard (2022)-her fifth, Joy’s repertoire is colorfully painted with Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Brazilian inspired rhythms and harmonic patterns, garlands of melody and plenty of space for spontaneity, pays tribute to the community, especially the many women who have helped facilitate her mastery of the steelpan and supported her success in the steel band movement.  

We had a lot of questions about steelpan, and Joy answered them all while providing an in-depth backstory to Girl In The Yard. It’s a conversation chock full of fascinating facts about panning that are “pure gold.”