Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Listen to "My Guy," the second single from ‘Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace,’ Joy Harjo's debut album on Smithsonian Folkways. Unreleased until now, “My Guy” was written by Harjo’s mother in the 1950s or ‘60s and recently uncovered by her sister. Harjo, 5-time Grammy award-winner esperanza spalding, and guitarist Matthew Stevens reanimate “My Guy” as a jazz-inflected love song featuring spalding’s vocals and punctuated by Harjo’s alto sax.
Joy Harjo - alto saxophone
esperanza spalding - lead vocals
Matthew Stevens - guitar
Purchase/Stream:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/joy-harjo/insomnia-and-seven-steps-to-grace
Bandcamp: joyharjo.bandcamp.com/album/insomnia-and-seven-steps-to-grace
All other platforms: orcd.co/joy-harjo
As a poet and musician, Joy Harjo channels a creative force she describes as a “vibration of love” to connect countless traditions and artforms, countering the despair and heartache caused by power and hate. Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace, her debut for Smithsonian Folkways, draws on the long-intertwined rhythms of jazz and poetry, the power of improvisation and self-expression through sound, and the vitality of Native culture and spirituality to spark a chain of vibrational energy to engulf the whole world. Harjo’s voice is bold and direct, supported by producer and bass player esperanza spalding, covering a repertoire that includes a jazz standard, a song written by Harjo’s mother and uncovered by her sister, and many originals that speak to contemporary issues and her life as one of the most celebrated American poets of the last century.
Joy Harjo: joyharjo.com
Instagram: instagram.com/joyharjoforreal
Facebook: facebook.com/JoyHarjo
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/smithsonianfolkwaysrecordings
Twitter: twitter.com/Folkways
Instagram: instagram.com/smithsonianfolkways
Support our work! Become a Friend of Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/friends-of-folkways
The content and comments posted here are subject to the Smithsonian Institution copyright and privacy policy (www.si.edu/copyright). Smithsonian reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove any content at any time.
#JoyHarjo
Listen to "My Guy," the second single from ‘Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace,’ Joy Harjo's debut album on Smithsonian Folkways. Unreleased until now, “My Guy” was written by Harjo’s mother in the 1950s or ‘60s and recently uncovered by her sister. Harjo, 5-time Grammy award-winner esperanza spalding, and guitarist Matthew Stevens reanimate “My Guy” as a jazz-inflected love song featuring spalding’s vocals and punctuated by Harjo’s alto sax.
Joy Harjo - alto saxophone
esperanza spalding - lead vocals
Matthew Stevens - guitar
Purchase/Stream:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/joy-harjo/insomnia-and-seven-steps-to-grace
Bandcamp: joyharjo.bandcamp.com/album/insomnia-and-seven-steps-to-grace
All other platforms: orcd.co/joy-harjo
As a poet and musician, Joy Harjo channels a creative force she describes as a “vibration of love” to connect countless traditions and artforms, countering the despair and heartache caused by power and hate. Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace, her debut for Smithsonian Folkways, draws on the long-intertwined rhythms of jazz and poetry, the power of improvisation and self-expression through sound, and the vitality of Native culture and spirituality to spark a chain of vibrational energy to engulf the whole world. Harjo’s voice is bold and direct, supported by producer and bass player esperanza spalding, covering a repertoire that includes a jazz standard, a song written by Harjo’s mother and uncovered by her sister, and many originals that speak to contemporary issues and her life as one of the most celebrated American poets of the last century.
Joy Harjo: joyharjo.com
Instagram: instagram.com/joyharjoforreal
Facebook: facebook.com/JoyHarjo
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/smithsonianfolkwaysrecordings
Twitter: twitter.com/Folkways
Instagram: instagram.com/smithsonianfolkways
Support our work! Become a Friend of Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/friends-of-folkways
The content and comments posted here are subject to the Smithsonian Institution copyright and privacy policy (www.si.edu/copyright). Smithsonian reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove any content at any time.
#JoyHarjo
