New Orleans-based singer-songwriter Dusky Waters, previously nominated for OffBeat’s Best Emerging Artist, is slated to play this April at Jazz Fest and is heading to Montreal. 

Dusky Waters is the nom de plume for contemporary Americana songwriter/musician Jenn Jeffers. Dusky Waters is an expression of her affinity for the magic of twilight hours and the presence of the Mississippi River that has anchored her life from her childhood on the banks of its tributary Arkansas River in Little Rock, to her early twenties in the delta of northern Louisiana, to her current home in New Orleans. In many ways her music sonically mirrors this life journey; having absorbed elements of gospel, folk, and soul, while still embracing contemporary pop melodies and arrangements. Incorporating and exploring the sounds that she uncovered along the way, her songs ultimately express a modern woman’s experience of the deep South, a manifestation of the magic and mourning of the bayou state, and hopeful odes to the power of self-actualization.

She and her band will be featured at the 2025 Folk Alliance International Conference not only as an official showcase artist, but also as a facilitator and panelist with the Black American Music Summit (BAMS) which aims to amplify Black voices in folk and America.

The largest folk music industry conference is currently underway now through Feb. 23. Folk Alliance International (FAI) is an international arts nonprofit and NEA-designated National Arts Service Organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Founded in 1989, the community of passionate and driven artists, managers, agents, DJs, festivals, record labels, fans, and more exists  to keep the tradition of folk music thriving through preservation, presentation and promotion.

Most recently, Dusky Waters performed with Paul Faith and The Bartstool Prophets  for the recent album release show for Oh, Well at Carrollton Station on February 7. To follow Dusky Waters, visit their Instagram here.