hey welcome to the secret page for press and special people all about..
joy burklund & her band’s debut album
Songbouquet
Singles: “Steady Heart” “On the Line” “Hell in a Handbag” now streaming
Full Album out March 21 (early release on Bandcamp March 14)
Photo by Maria Baranova / Design Andi Avery & joy burklund
Makeup Artist Colby B / Floral Design Linny Blossm
Philly-based indie-rock trans songstress joy burklund & her band are thrilled to announce the release of their upcoming debut album Songbouquet on March 21, 2025.
Following last year’s debut release “On the Line,” joy’s second single “Steady Heart” swirls joy’s playful lyricism into a lush, classic rock band arrangement.
about “Songbouquet”
Ranging from emotional, Americana-tinted ballad (“Not Gonna Fall”), to reflective fingerpicked confessional (“Next Life”), to massive, sunshine-optimist rock anthem (“Sunrays”), Songbouquet is a bold, trans-genre debut that centers joy’s dynamic vocal performance. Her playfully introspective lyrics call back to the anti-folk tradition of artists like the Moldy Peaches, Regina Spektor, and Diane Cluck, while her propulsive, energetic guitar riffs evoke indie punk acts like Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and The Thermals.
“For the last three years, I’ve been working my way back to songwriting for the first time since fronting a garage punk band in high school. Music-making had remained a casual and private practice over the years, but the spring of ‘22, my fingers began to itch for guitar strings, and I had a strange, overwhelming urge to sing in belty, ornate, diva-esque riffs.
Overlapping this return to song was a time of wild, wavy change in my life on all kinds of levels. Riding that rough lifecurrent brought feelings of unsteadiness and ache, but I simultaneously encountered a big beautiful swirling bloom of confidence, openness, and relief as I greeted life’s chaos anew (*might* be referring to trans stuff in this here paragraph).
When I first started writing what would become this record, I felt shy about these tunes. I thought- they’re too dramatic to appeal, and too disparate to congeal! But as I befriended these songs, each a flower of her own, I learned how they belong together. Like how the highlights belong next to the shadows, the screams next to the whispers next to the chants, and the longing next to the gratitude.
Three years later, I’m struck by the golden optimism in these songs. It’s something I had to dig for to make it through that phase, earlier in my transition. It’s not always easy to feel strong and courageous. I’m glad I bottled some, for whatever's next.
So here’s my offering. They’re all love songs.”
- joy burklund--
about joy
Photo by Jersey Wall
joy burklund (she/her) is a trans songstress, performer, filmmaker, and theater artist living on unceded lands of the Lenni-Lenape, also known as Philadelphia.
In 2022, after a decade of making theater and film in New York City, she found her way back into songwriting and vocal performance for the first time since playing in a garage band in high school. Between 2022 and 2023, in the winds of several life transitions, she wrote the songs that would become the seeds of her music project.
Summer 2023 brought new collaborations with her original bandmates, Anastasia DeFulgentis, Pansy Lee Erskine, and Ashley Ferrante, who collaborated with joy on bringing the songs to full life in live performances around the Philly DIY and house show circuit. Her debut record Songbouquet began production in Fall 2023 in collaboration with producer Mattie Kimberley Chaya Klauser of Pillow Princess Productions.
In her debut collection of songs, joy harkens to the style, strength, and confident femininity of divas both pop and alt (Céline, Alanis, Nina, Patti, Ezra, ANOHNI) while bringing her own sultry snarl, and knack for cheeky storytelling. Drawing from an expansive stylistic palette, joy blends punk grit and folk softness to tell her story of transformative queer love.
new single!
“Steady Heart”
Art by joy burklund
“I wrote “Steady Heart” for my long-term partner, who I fell in love with in high school. That was nearly 20 years ago, over 10 years before either of us transitioned.
“It’s a love song for someone who has been through it with you, who’s been an anchor through turbulent change. Who you’ve bonded with through the hardest and happiest and weirdest times. It’s the sharing of a silly, dusty memory with that person, a sigh of gratitude, a celebration.
As we prepare to release “Songbouquet” it felt right to lead with this one- an uncomplicated I love you.”
- joy burklund
Praise for 2024 single
“On the Line”
“joyously wonderful and honest…full-bodied and lush instrumentation including some outstanding guitar work”
- Buzz Slayers
““electrifying yet emotive… a concise yet powerful track that showcases their tight musicianship and guitar-forward sound”
- The Mic Magazine
Next Life from Songbouquet
Live recording featuring Pansy Lee Erskine
press for joy burklund & her band
making “Songbouquet”
joy & her band perform a benefit concert at Homies Helping Homies
Left to Right: Avery Dyer, joy burklund, Ashley Ferrante
Photos by Alasia Destine-DeFreece
While the songs are personal to joy, the creation of Songbouquet represents a collective labor of love by and for the Philadelphia trans music community. The 13-track album was produced by Philadelphia music-scene stalwart Mattie Chaya Kimberly Klauser (of Pillow Princess and Mandy Valentine) and features an extensive lineup of trans and queer collaborators at all levels of production, including guest vocalists Sam Rise, Amber Jane (of Moondrifts), and Zaza Diana Oh.
“The songs themselves may come from a private and playful place, but the way we gather and share music is and has always been political and profound. It’s been really meaningful that the majority of the live performances we’ve played over the last year and a half have been fundraisers supporting local mutual aid efforts, sending aid to Gaza, and gender-affirming care for community members.” - joy burklund
Track List
Three Little Roses
On the Line
Emotion (feat. Sam Rise)
Not Gonna Fall
Good Cry
Dream Visitor
Next Life
Morning Bird
Sunrays
Hell in a Handbag (Feat. Amber Jane)
Another Time
Words Song (feat. Zaza Diana Oh)
Steady Heart
Album Credits
Written and Performed by joy burklund
Produced, Recorded, and Mixed at Tralfamadore
by Mattie Chaya Kimberly Klauser / Pillow Princess Productions
Vocals, Guitars, Piano joy burklund
Guest Vocalists Sam Rise, Amber Jane, Zaza Diana Oh
Bass, Backing Vocals, String Arrangements Pansy Lee Erskine
Drums Ashley Ferrante
Keys Anastasia DeFulgentis
Keys Dash Flasch
Violin, Cello Frankie DeRosa
Steel Guitar Liz Faure
Tambourine Abby Heier
Drums Mattie Chaya Kimberly Klauser
Additional Drum Recording at The Ankle Pit by Mary Jadzia Smith
Strings Production by Robbie Simmons
Mastered by Elaine Rasnake at Daughterboard Audio
Upcoming Performances <3
March 26, 2025 / PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA
!!!Full band album release show!!!
with Lizdelize and Lars
Spring Shows Announced Soon
Photo by Mary Jadzia Smith
Left to Right: Anastasia DeFulgentis, Ashley Ferrante, joy burklund, & Pansy Lee Erskine
All inquiries: joy.songbouquet @gmail.com