At just under five-feet tall, Manhattan resident Evie Joy plays her set with no shoes on for a more grounded performance. A multi-instrumentalist, Evie uses her ukulele Ed, a keyboard, a bass, multiple percussive instruments (including a banana), and a loop pedal to build vocal/ instrumental arrangements live. Evie studied opera for 12 years but currently plays what she calls “ukulele rap” and has toured all across the globe, from London to Seattle and even on Caribbean Cruise Lines. A recipient of the Johnny Mercer Fellowship, Evie gets the crowd laughing alongside her by adding funny one liners in between verses. “There is a sadness in everything,” she says in regard to her comedy in her music, “but that’s where we should find humor.” Having been recognized by PopDust for writing “a canticle of female empowerment”, one of Evie’s passions is to inspire women to live their truest, most powerful lives, unburdened by social norms.