Smart Bets: Joy Oladokun

The first cut on Joy Oladokun’s new album Observations from a Crowded Room is “Letter from a Blackbird,” and on Jan. 16, the singer/songwriter/musician kicked off her Blackbird Tour in Minneapolis. She lands at The Orange Peel on Wednesday, Feb. 12, with a unique production that will see Oladokun open for Oladokun. “The opening set is just Joy, herself, doing an acoustic set rather than a separate opening act,” says The Orange Peel operating partner Liz Whalen Tallent. “She decided to add that for Asheville, and I think it will be very, very special.” The rest of the show will feature the artist with her full band. Central to the special night is Oladokun’s decision to donate 100% of the event’s proceeds to the N.C. Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund (avl.mx/ei9) to support long-term recovery for Western North Carolina communities affected by Tropical Storm Helene. The album — her third since her 2020 critical breakthrough In Defense of My Own Happiness (The Beginnings) — was written, produced and largely performed by Oladokun alone. Her Asheville audience can look forward to hearing much of the 15-track collection, which merges pop-folk, electronic and psychedelic sounds. Oladokun, who describes herself as a “proud queer Black person and daughter of Nigerian immigrants,” has collaborated with artists including Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Jason Isbell and Noah Kahan. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show. avl.mx/ehz