The Love Joanna Sternberg Gives
The singer-songwriter sat down with Luckbox to describe what drives them to perform
Joanna Sternberg has been an artist and musician practically their whole life, but what makes them so special is how human and down to earth they are. The singer-songwriter, born and raised in New York City, took to the Pitchfork Red Stage on Sunday, July 21 for an intimate set full of heartfelt songs, bug swatting intermissions and delicate humor.
Sternberg’s quirky demeanor is met with a wholesome gratitude, one that shows they lead their life and work with a certain child-like joy. When meeting Sternberg, or seeing them perform live, it’s impossible to walk away without feeling that same unguarded love for art. They crack jokes and try to not take themselves too seriously, confiding in the crowd about their fear of butterflies—an insect I have a tattooed on the inside of my left arm.
When I met Sternberg after their set for a chat in the shaded grass, I led with my tattoo. They wholeheartedly say they love the drawing, just not the real thing. I knew immediately Sternberg is the type of person who can connect with anyone.
“It’s really great to play here. I’m honored to be picked for the festival,” Sternberg says. “I usually make a lot of jokes and am chattier, but my throat is bothering me so I had to be sure I could sing the songs.”
At the time of their Pitchfork set, Sternberg’s second album I’ve Got Me has been out for just over one year. And it’s the album they’ve been hoping to make their whole life. Sternberg played every instrument on the recordings, including piano, double bass, electric bass, guitar, violin, drums, banjo and mandolin. But when they perform live, it’s just their voice and acoustic guitar—a stripped down set reminiscent of Joni Mitchell.
Sternberg comes from a lineage of musicians and artists, including their parents. Their grandparents include Fraydele Oysher, an American Yiddish theater actress and singer, and Harold Sternberg, who was an opera singer.
“[Music] is something I knew was natural to me,” Sternberg says. “It all started when my family heard me humming the tune to a song when I was very young, and they put me in music lessons. My dad is a really great piano player, and I was able to study him. That was the first instrument I learned.”
Sternberg studied double bass at Mannes College of Music and completed their degree at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. But it wasn’t until they were 23 years old that they started singing and songwriting.
“I always wanted to sing but I was very self-conscious about it, too,” Sternberg says. “Because my dad is a great singer, and his family are great singers. And I always thought I couldn’t do it. Whenever I tried to do it, I was singing in like a weird voice.”
They eventually took voice lessons to help them find and lean into their singing voice—which is uniquely theirs, a soft, yet powerful vibrato. It’s a testament that it’s never too late to do what you enjoy.
“When I got to Chicago, my Lyft driver was telling me about America’s Got Talent and showing me all these contestants who were older and had just started singing live,” Sternberg says. “They had always been sort of secretly singing. I had always been secretly singing, but I was doing it wrong.”
They’re also a multi-disciplinary artist, who works in different mediums at different times—drawing comics and other visual art when seeking isolated creative time. When they perform live, it helps release that pent-up energy ready to get out.
Sternberg is obsessed with other musicians, in an educated way—specifically jazz and blues artists like Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Ornette Coleman. When writing songs, Sternberg enjoys simple lyrics, words and phrases that anyone of any age can relish in. They name Randy Newman, John Lennon and Bob Dylan as songwriters who have inspired them.
Sternberg’s collection of songs creates an emotional quilt of poetic simplicity. All they hope to do with performing is to make people feel better, even if just for a few moments.
“That’s the thing that pushes me to keep doing it. Because otherwise I’d be too scared,” Sternberg says.
Start with Sternberg’s song I’ve Got Me, the opener on their second album. It’s a very personal song that highlights their singer-songwriter capabilities.
Pay attention to how controlled and natural their voice sounds. And though they sing of moments of self-hatred or doubt, Sternberg always comes back to themself.
Kendall Polidori is The Rockhound, Luckbox’s resident rock critic. Follow her reviews on Instagram and X @rockhoundlb, TikTok @rockhoundkp
