Checking in with KC’s own The Voice alum Casi Joy on what’s coming next

Casi Joy. // Courtesy Casi Joy

Two years ago, we spoke with singer Casi Joy right at the start of COVID quarantine about her time growing up in Kansas City and her success after appearing on NBC’s The Voice.

In the intervening time, her success has grown even more, and Joy is headed back to Kansas City this weekend to perform as part of the Climate Action KC Regional Climate Action Summit at Johnson County Community College this Saturday, April 9. We took some time last week to hop on Zoom with Joy to speak about her recent work.

The Pitch: What got you involved with Climate Action KC?

Casi Joy: I was super excited when they reached out. I think it’s so important–especially nowadays–to bring up climate change and how that’s affecting everybody. I think this is going to be a really cool event to just show people these new inventions for the future to keep our planet healthy and us healthy.

What’s always struck us as interesting is the fact that you had been a professional musician for a good portion of your life by the time you were on The Voice. What’s it like to have been performing publicly and getting paid for it and to then go on to a show where “undiscovered” talent is found?

It is always crazy. I try to let people know this wasn’t the beginning for me, but The Voice was was like, “This is what we’ve been training for, my whole life,” basically.

I felt like that really helped me be prepared. I was less nervous than I definitely would have been if I hadn’t been performing my whole life. I was getting to do the Plaza lighting before all of that, so I was used to a big crowd, and I think that really helped set me up for as much success as I could have.

Your performances on The Voice were very much country-style. Obviously, there was “Blue,” but you did “My Church” by Maren Morris and things like that. Is country the genre that you like the most?

I think country has become the most versatile, because the sound is not as pinpointed down to “three chords and the truth” with the steel guitar and a banjo. It’s starting to broaden a little bit, and I’m also able to do so many different and stylistic things with my voice in country music.

Still, coming from a rock and pop background, as well—I think that has enabled me to be able to have an eclectic sound about it.

Looking at some of your more recent singles, “Namaste” was very much a country song, and “The Money” and “Senses Fail” are both country-tinged, but ‘The Money” is also very much a pop song. That seems like you’re really exploring what the genre has to offer.

My goal is to try something new with every song that I release. I’m so grateful to my fans for being open to it and not being like, “Where’s the banjo?” They’re just really behind the songwriting, and that’s who I’m writing these songs for—the fans.

I wanna always make sure that I’m telling my truth, and even if it’s a funny song, it’s still about real stuff that I’ve been through. I’m really grateful that my fans allow me to get a little weird sometimes.

What brings you back to Kansas City? Family, obviously, but are there other things as well?

Well, another reason is a lot of times we have to make a pit stop back in KC to drop our dogs off with my parents. They dog-sit for us when we go out on the road if we can’t take them with us.

I just always want to come back to KC as much as possible to see my family. I never want to miss birthday parties or holidays or friends’ weddings and things like that.

We always try to make sure we’re booking shows in Kansas City, because that’s where it all started for me. I always want to make sure that I’m coming back home and watering the home base and seeing all those fans that have been watching me and supporting me since day one when I was five years old and really bad.

What do you mean “really bad” when you were five?

I don’t come from a musical background. I don’t feel like I was born with it, but I always had a pitch, and I always had rhythm, and I always wanted to dance on stage, so a lot of that kind of stuff came naturally, but the tone of my voice is something that would make my dog roll over dead. It was not pretty. And my parents would still support me.

They’re like, “Okay, you can do this next talent show, I guess, if you really want,” and they’d be cowering in the back, but still videoing. One day, those videos will come out and then everyone will cringe and believe me, but they’ll see how far I’ve gotten.

You’ve got a supportive family. You’ve got a supportive fan base. Was that helpful during the lockdown, being able to reach out to these people you’ve known your whole life, but also those who you may only know ephemerally online to support you through it all?

During the lockdown, my fans were what literally kept us alive. We were doing the Facebook Lives every week, and the virtual tip jar, and all that. Not only financially did they help me, but I think we all helped each other, just being a support system to one another and feeling like it’s not just you sitting in your living room by yourself, as it had been for days and days and days.

We would all just be waiting for Monday night when we can all see the joy. I started to see some of my fans interacting with each other and they ask each other about their health, ’cause they would remember someone got a procedure done and it was just really cool to see that community really build and get close to one another.

Casi Joy performs as part of the Climate Action KC Regional Climate Action Summit at Johnson County Community College Saturday, April 9. Details on that event here.