JOVIA ARMSTRONG: GLOBAL FUSION

Name: JOVIA ARMSTRONG: GLOBAL FUSION
Start: 2026-06-03T20:00:00-04:00
Location: 3108 West Cary Street, Richmond, VA

Schedule

Wed, 03 Jun, 2026 at 08:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

3108 West Cary Street, Richmond, VA | Richmond, VA

JOVIA ARMSTRONG: GLOBAL FUSION
SHOW NOTES
Admission: $17.50
Pre-show specials: 5PM - 6:30PM
Music: 8PM
21+ / 16+ must be accompanied by an adult
Reserved seating.
Tickets: https://www.revelerexperiences.com/event/jovia-armstrong-global-fusion
"A heady blend of electric jazz fusion, atmospheric soundscapes, and hip-hop-informed rhythms.” - MATT COLLAR / ALLMUSIC
JoVia Armstrong is a Detroit-born percussionist, composer, sound artist, and educator. Her genre-blending work fuses experimental music, Black musical traditions, and immersive technology, creating transformative sonic experiences that take audiences into Afrofuturistic worlds. She was named 2014 Best Black Female Percussionist of the Year by the Black Women in Jazz Awards, became a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in 2015, and served on its executive board. Her extensive performance history includes collaborations with El DeBarge, Omar, Les Nubians, Res, Rahsaan Patterson, Joe Vasconcellos, Eric Roberson, Frank McComb, The Impressions, Isaiah Sharkey, and many others. As a bandleader, her project Eunoia Society explores immersive technology and therapeutic soundscapes, while her work with Detroit-based Musique Noire has garnered multiple Detroit Music Awards nominations.

This special performance is the first in a series that explores frontiers of jazz improvisation. With a band of all-star players, Armstrong invites the audience into the creative process through a unique, participatory format where everyone and anyone in the room can help shape the music performed. The band recieves creative input from the room, conjuring sounds and rhythms inspired by the people present. The audience can participate without any special musical knowledge or skills. These spontaneous works are recorded and released with a portion of the publishing supporting local school arts programs. The ensemble includes: Mike Hawkins (bass); Calvin Brown (keys); Jackson Shurlds (guitar); Karl Tietze (drums); and JoVia Armstrong (percussion).
A trailblazer in contemporary percussion, Armstrong performs on her signature hybrid cajón kit—an inventive fusion of the cajón’s earthy resonance with processed effects, cymbals, and a range of percussive textures. This innovative setup allows her to move effortlessly between acoustic warmth and expansive electronic soundscapes, creating a performance that’s both grounded in tradition and boldly forward-looking.
Winner of DownBeat 73rd Annual Critics Poll for Rising Star Percussionist of the Year (2025), Armstrong has become one of the most dynamic voices in modern jazz. Richmond audiences may remember her from a recent performance at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as part of Ezra Masch’s Volumes exhibit.
Armstrong is an endorsed artist with QSC, Sabian, Icon Pro Audio, and Gon Bops and currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Virginia. Her music has been praised by The New York Times, DownBeat Magazine, JazzTimes, and more, with JazzTimes noting, “Comparisons to Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi band from the 1970s are purposeful and warranted.”