Joel Havea

Joel’s career spans over a decade as an independent touring musician, with over 900 performances across 25 countries. From intimate acoustic sets to major festival stages—including Reeperbahn Festival (Hamburg), Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), and Bardentreffen (Nürnberg)— he has brought his South-Sea Soul to audiences worldwide. He has released four albums and three EPs through his label, Tastic Records, all self-produced. His latest studio album, Ki ‘a Lavaka (2020), was the first to incorporate influences from his Tongan roots. Other recent highlights include showcasing for Folk Alliance International, participating in Global Music Match (co-presented by Sounds Australia), and performing at the last two World Expos in Dubai, U.A.E and Osaka, Japan. He has shared stages and collaborated with a diverse range of artists from Nigerian afrobeat singer Nneka, US West Coast rapper Pigeon John, Israelí/Australian folk singer Lior, Bulgarian Soul band Malky, and pop superstar James Blunt Most recently, Joel released his bold and direct new single Mass Formation Psychosis, a haunting, cinematic track exploring the societal silences and questions left in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a song and sound unlike anything he has released before.