Jo Harman at Wivenhoe Congregational Church

In the age of beige, when the norm is to suppress the spirit in a deluge of conservatism and political correctness, it is a raw and heart-warming sight to witness, but Jo Harman can convey a song so soulfully that it elicits such an overtly emotional response.

An artist who sings straight from the heart, with pure, unadulterated soulfulness and sincerity devoid of any histrionics, Jo was proclaimed "the UK’s finest female soul blues voice" by the Daily Mirror, while Classic Rock & Blues said, "She writes lip-biting, beautiful songs."

​It has been a decade since Jo travelled to Nashville to record her most recent body of original work, the highly acclaimed People We Become, featuring Michael McDonald (whose other duet partners number Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, and Patti LaBelle), yet her reputation and standing have only continued to grow in the years since, confirmed by her 2025 Female Vocalist of the Year nomination by Soultracks....

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In the age of beige, when the norm is to suppress the spirit in a deluge of conservatism and political correctness, it is a raw and heart-warming sight to witness, but Jo Harman can convey a song so soulfully that it elicits such an overtly emotional response.

An artist who sings straight from the heart, with pure, unadulterated soulfulness and sincerity devoid of any histrionics, Jo was proclaimed "the UK’s finest female soul blues voice" by the Daily Mirror, while Classic Rock & Blues said, "She writes lip-biting, beautiful songs."

​It has been a decade since Jo travelled to Nashville to record her most recent body of original work, the highly acclaimed People We Become, featuring Michael McDonald (whose other duet partners number Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, and Patti LaBelle), yet her reputation and standing have only continued to grow in the years since, confirmed by her 2025 Female Vocalist of the Year nomination by Soultracks.

Jo has felt a renewed pull towards Black American music of the late 1960s and early 1970s - songs that offered powerful commentary on social injustice. More than half a century on, their themes resonate strongly with her own concerns about society in today’s troubled times.

​This has led Jo to record her own interpretations of Donny Hathaway's Someday We'll All Be Free, then Andy Grammer's Don't Give Up On Me, and now the Ralph MacDonald/William Salter composition Trade Winds – a song whose message she feels profoundly - which completes this trilogy of 70s soul classics, each chosen for lyrics that speak directly to her deeply held reflections on the present day.

​​For this intimate, stripped-back trio show, performed exclusively for The Music Mix, Jo is accompanied by two world-class musicians in Emily Francis (Toyah Willcox, Andrea Bocelli, Rumer, Alexandra Burke) and Nat Martin (Robert Fripp, Galliano, Thomas Dolby).

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