Nao Yoshioka The Light

Presenting the progressive soul singer who continues to evolve beyond all boundaries

Nao Yoshioka, SoulTracks’ 2015 New Artist of the Year, combines a powerful voice and New York-styled delivery to create a modern sound still deeply rooted in the history of soul.

Since her single “Make the Change” was released in 2012, she’s received kudos from a number of soul music veterans including Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Gordon Chambers.

In July 2015 alone, her debut album “The Light” was released in North America, in Japan she headlined a sold out Blue Note Tokyo, performed at the hugely popular Summer Sonic festival, and guested with bassist Nathan East at Billboard Live Tokyo.

Nao has performed at venues around the world including Blue Note New York, the legendary Birchmere where she has opened for José James and Rahsaan Patterson, Club Dauphine in The Netherlands where she shared the stage with saxophonist Candy Dulfer, and Hideaway, South London’s award-winning live music venue. In the summer of 2016 Nao performed at her first major US music festival, Capital Jazz Fest, one of the largest festivals in the United States along side legends like Lalah Hathaway and Marcus Miller.

In 2017, Nao toured Japan, The Netherlands, UK, and also performed during the 11th Annual Capital Jazz SuperCruise sailing from New York City to Bermuda.