Congratulations are in order for Samara Joy who won her first NAACP Image Award this past weekend for Outstanding Jazz Album for her latest album Portrait. She was nominated alongside Etienne Charles, Kirk Whalum, Matthew Whitaker and Javon Jackson.
Jazz/blues composer Michael Abels also won for Best Original Score for TV/Film for Star Wars: Acolyte. The 56th Annual NAACP Image Awards took place on February 22, 2025 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. You can view the complete list of this year’s winners here.
Next up, Joy will be embarking on a global tour starting on March 7 in Caen, France with four Canadian stops in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. You can view all the tour dates here.