British singer/songwriter Joss Stone performs Aug. 7 at Brown County Music Center
If you passed Joss Stone in the grocery store, then heard her sing on the radio you might be confused. Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige and Etta James might come to mind. Stone exemplifies the "blue-eyed soul" genre. She is a double Brit Award and Grammy winning artist who released her well received debut album, "The Soul Sessions, in 2003 — she was 16.
Stone — a British soul singer-songwriter and actor-presenter — and her band come to the Brown County Music Center Aug. 7. Attendees are in for a typhoon of her musical experimentation. Sounds of other stars with whom she has worked plus, of course, her own imagination have driven a sound and style that blow out soul riffs along with hip-hop, reggae, world music and more.
She has released nine studio albums, selling more than 15 million copies globally and has performed next to greats including James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Sting, Van Morrison and Melissa Etheridge. Stone has worked with and contributed to albums for some of the most famous musicians, including Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck and Damien Marley. Just in the U.S. she has pulled in north of 1 billion streams.
Joss Stone Foundation embraces baby-cuddling
Stone's not just stocked with vocals and vibes; she's compassionate and generous. She was on a world tour (she had told her band they were "going to play in every country of the world" after she heard the term "world tour" and didn't know what it meant) when she noticed small local groups of people doing volunteer work.
"I started meeting people who were giving their time and love in various charities," she said on the phone. She saw the limitations of their money and other resources and wanted to "help them help people."
So she set up the Joss Stone Foundation. Stone has visited 200 charities. Her foundation acts as a sort of middleman for different inclusive charities, for all: children and other young people, families, the elderly, animal welfare and environmental and social issues.
"My fans are great. They donate too so that we can fund these charities."
Stone is vigilant about how donations are spent and has a hired an overseer. In Tel Aviv, Stone learned about baby-cuddling programs, groups that send volunteers to hospitals and other locations to soothe and calm infants in need of body contact. Baby-cuddling programs have become Stone's newest outreach.
"In the U.S.," she said, "there are many babies who are suffering from withdrawal (symptoms) and need to be held by someone in order to thrive." Stone is determined to help find answers on how to fill this void.
Millions of mothers give birth preterm, and many others have substance abuse disorder. Their newborns need special procedures, which means they might lack the necessary physical touch from their professional caregivers, who are assisting other patients.
'A Cuppa Happy' podcast and cooking show
Stone also hosts a podcast, "A Cuppa Happy," on Apple Music and Spotify. "I want people to be happy," she said, "to know how to be OK."
On her cooking show, "Cooking with Joss Stone," viewers may see easy-to-prepare meals or even Stone's (hungry) beagle, as Stone sings and blends, every second a big spoonful of fun.
'Ellipsis' indicates Joss Stone's and band's endurance
The title of Stone's tour is Ellipsis, which a colleague chose one day as the band discussed the group's longevity. Last year, the band hit the two-decade mark, and Stone said, "Oh my God, we got to 20 years. All of us. Us and our audience!"
That long-lived success no doubt depends in part — although Stone gives busloads of credit to her "impeccable, gorgeous band" — to the things Stone can do with her voice. Soul, indeed: think of the great female blues singers. But there's rock in Stone's vocals and jazz and hip hop and even, if one really listens and watches, opera.
Opera, in fact has been on Stone's mind recently, and she scatters a few bars of it here and there. Opera lessons are on her wish list.
If you go
WHAT: Joss Stone and her Ellipsis tour
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7
WHERE: Brown County Music Center, 200 Maple Leaf Blvd., Nashville
TICKETS: $20-$86 at browncountymusiccenter.com/
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Joss Stone performs 'blue-eyed soul' music at Brown County Music Center
