Joanna Sternberg

Joanna Sternberg is a singer, songwriter, and visual artist from New York whose poignant blend of confessional folk, ragtime-inspired melodies, and indie pop has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal audience. A former jazz session bassist, Sternberg began writing deeply personal songs on guitar and piano in the late 2010s, eventually winning a spot on Fat Possum's roster. Their 2019 debut, Then I Try Some More, explored difficult themes of hopelessness and self-doubt and yielded the standout "This Is Not Who I Want to Be." Released four years later, Sternberg's follow-up album, I've Got Me, continued to hone their introspective and sometimes idiosyncratic style. Born and raised in New York City, Sternberg's household was a creative one. A legacy of artists and musicians -- including their painter and musician father, Michael Sternberg -- preceded their own entry into these fields, which began with piano lessons at age five. A predilection for drawing comics and a period of teaching themselves to play guitar and bass followed over subsequent years, as their musical palette grew to include everything from Brahms and Scott Joplin to the Beatles. Sternberg eventually earned a performance degree on double bass from the New School and spent several years gigging in jazz clubs and orchestra pits around New York. In their early twenties, Sternberg began writing songs and learning to sing. In an earnest, unconventional tenor, their unique songs worked through a troubling litany of self-criticism and personal fears but were set to strong, sentimental melodies that recalled early American songcrafters like Scott Joplin or Stephen Foster rather than anything on the contemporary musical landscape. After landing an opening slot on a 2018 tour with Conor Oberst, they released their debut album, Then I Try Some More, on Oberst's Team Love label the following year. Over the next few years, the album picked up steam and, in 2021, was re-released by Fat Possum Records. Meanwhile, Sternberg retreated to their family's apartment in Manhattan Plaza, a classic New York artist enclave with a long history for housing creatives ranging from Duke Ellington to James Earl Jones. It was there that Sternberg wrote the songs for their next album. Recorded in Brooklyn by producer Matt Sweeney, Sternberg played every instrument, drew the album cover, and even arranged the string parts. The resulting set, I've Got Me, continued the singer's intense self-examinations while expanding their musical palette.
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