A Newark, New Jersey native, Brown grew up singing in the church where her father served as preacher, singer, and musician, and she began singing solos at age five. She studied vocal music at Newark’s Arts High School and music education and performance at Immaculata University, where she trained in classical Bel Canto technique. In 2015 she began singing at jam sessions.

Encouraged at a jam session led by drummer Winard Harper to study with pianist Barry Harris, she moved to New York City in 2016 and attended his workshops every week for two years. In 2018 she made her Carnegie Hall debut as featured soloist in a concert honoring Duke Ellington’s sacred music, and she has since performed across Europe and South America and at Dizzy’s Club, Smalls Jazz Club, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

At the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, expect a singer who treats every lyric as a story and every set as a conversation with the room.