Candice Hoyes is a vocalist, composer, archivist and curator of a “mesmerizing range” (Vogue). The prolific singer and songwriter has been dubbed “an artist with the most eclectic and delicious voice ever” by JazzFM (UK) as she brings “Black history into the present” (NPR).
Born to Jamaican parents, Candice Hoyes gravitated towards music at an early age. Influenced by jazz, 70’s and 90’s soul, and feminist icons found in her parents’ record collection as a kid, she began penning and performing her own interpretations of these classics. Her honey-dipped five-octave range and storyteller’s wit garnered recognition and she graced such stages including 2020 NYC JazzFest, Detroit Symphony, and the Blue Note as well as opening for the likes of Chaka Khan, Lalah Hathaway and Lin-Manuel Miranda to name a few. Her 2021-22 dates will include Carnegie Hall and UK’s We Out Here Fest and many others.
Now Candice Hoyes is set to reveal an upcoming EP with each track unfolding like episodes on the journey into womanhood. Her acclaimed single, “Waiting for the World (Tired),” is an otherworldly flow on a Langston Hughes’ poem entitled “Tired” about societal accountability, while the single “Zora’s Moon” is a sensual and soulful expression paying tribute to Black girlhood. Featuring a sample of a raucous 1943 radio conversation with feminist icon Zora Neale Hurston, the single is a view into the trailblazer’s legacy from a contemporary perch. The “Zora’s Moon-Natasha Diggs Remix” is an invigorating dance take on her signature jazz meets soul sound. Featuring funk-fueled guitars, 90’s house inspired landscapes and pulsating electronic beats, the remix is the perfect sultry reclamation. Candice enlisted the help of Natasha Diggs, one of the most sought-after DJs in New York City and the world, to add her imaginative take on “Zora’s Moon.”
Her highly-anticipated EP is co-written with GRAMMY-award winning pianist, Sullivan Fortner (Paul Simon, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Dianne Reeves) and produced by GRAMMY-award winning multi-instrumentalist Casey Benjamin (Anderson .Paak, Robert Glasper, Q-Tip). It also features performances by vibraphonist Joel Ross (Marquis Hill, Makaya McCraven), trumpeter Keyon Harrold (Nas), Chiara Fasi (Solange).
In addition to singing and songwriting, Candice Hoyes is an activist/producer and a Harvard graduate. She has created a feminist performance lecture series for Jazz at Lincoln Center and CUNY, and is a key collaborator of TED, Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote, National Black Theater, Feminist Press, Well Read Black Girl, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in Law, Lower Eastside Girls Club, Women in Music, and numerous grassroots organizations.
With strength, passion and talent, Candice Hoyes is a unique artist that uses the power of her voice to tell the brave stories of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
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