October 11-23 I’ll be on tour in Europe with Charlotte Jacobs! See cities + dates below…
poster by Lau Barrios
press about oropendola
bandcamp new & notable
“Chamber pop with lyrics that are alternately wry and confessional, Oropendola creates whole worlds built on purposeful keyboard melodies.”
under the radar magazine (PREMIERE)
“Expansive and colorful, combining kaleidoscopic chamber pop arrangements with decadent balladry and an irresistible earnestness.”
”’Knocking Down Flowers’ is among Oropendola’s more subtle efforts, with Schubert’s lilting vocals floating above hypnotic rhythms and hazy swirls of melody. She conjures an immersive dreamy allure, inviting you to lose yourself amidst the swelling strings and twinkling keys. It’s an inviting fantasy, but an ephemeral one, with the instrumentation mirroring an overwhelming sense of yearning laced throughout the lyrics.”
brooklyn vegan
“New single ‘Knocking Down Flowers’ is lovely, ethereal dreampop”
look at my records
for the rabbits
“There’s much to process and dissect aurally in a way that rewards careful listening. It’s reminiscent of the rhythmic energy and groove-driven madness of Tune-Yards.”
“Knocking Down Flowers [is] at the meeting point between arms in the air pop perfection and something altogether more jarring and intriguing… The whole thing becomes a rich cut-and-paste musical collage.”
“The musical setting for [Rorschach Sky] is as playful as its origin story, a world of stop-start percussion, exuberant rhythmic vocal deliveries and layered flourishes of woodwind, keyboard and seemingly pretty much anything Joanna (with co-producer Zubin Hensler) could find to throw into her technicolour melting pot of ideas. As with so much of Oropendola’s music, Rorschach Sky seems to play out on the borders of art and pop, skipping off into the Dadaist avant-garde, before slipping instantly back into an accessible pop-hook.”
“Waiting for the Sky to Speak promises to be a compelling introduction to an artist who seems to see the world just a little differently from everyone around her.”
beats per minute
“[Rorschach Sky is] a wonderfully unshackled pop kaleidoscope which sounds partially indebted to Broken Social Scene, Broadcast or Stereolab with its warped synths and sparkling zinger-infested lyricism.”
“With an agile fluidity of its own, Waiting For The Sky to Speak [is] a collection of songs which dances between the hard binaries of life, be it presence and absence, past and future, life and death, and embraces the ephemeral as a kind of freedom… Single ‘Knocking Down Flowers’ is the perfect introduction to the record.”
"[Trust the Sun] turns away from the woozy haze of ‘Knocking Down Flowers’ in favour of something altogether more vivid, from the threaded piano and its poignant clarity to the growing weight of the vocals themselves. All delivered with an almost cyclical pattern which escalates across the runtime, as though in coalescing around itself, the song finds some internal means to grow.”
various small flames
uptohear music
“‘Knocking Down Flowers,’ by Oropendola, is a clever and minimalistic composition that showcases the artist’s ability to blend unusual foley sounds and textures to create a unique and immersive listening experience.”
high clouds magazine (PREMIERE)
“More than anything, Schubert is joining an exciting group of multidisciplinary artists who refuse to adhere to standards of genre or form. Similar to out-of-the-box musicians like Cassandra Jenkins… Schubert cannot be contained to one box or descriptor.”
about debut single Stillness:
“The track is soft yet powerful, a beautiful song perfect for winter listening, a track to guide you through snowstorms, a song for spine-chilling nights… Like a flower in spring, the track continues to blossom and grow, adding in clarinet, harp, piano, synths, and even flugelhorn. ‘Do you feel this stillness?’ Schubert repeats, as the track spirals into a beautiful, instrumental ending. Alongside co-producer Zubin Hensler, Schubert has spun out a delicate and dreamy masterpiece.”
glam glare
“With ‘Stillness,’ Oropendola dazzles from the start when she plays on a celesta... Her vocals are breathy and ethereal, like little flakes of glitter on fresh white snow… When she croons “winter won’t last much longer, dear” I am tempted to believe her. In its build, ‘Stillness’ is reminiscent of Sufjan Steven’s finest works yet with an alluring, female vibe.”
“With ‘Stillness,’ Oropendola dazzles from the start when she plays on a celesta... Her vocals are breathy and ethereal, like little flakes of glitter on fresh white snow… When she croons “winter won’t last much longer, dear” I am tempted to believe her. In its build, ‘Stillness’ is reminiscent of Sufjan Steven’s finest works yet with an alluring, female vibe.”
past oropendola shows
10/1 The Scratcher Sessions w/ Emily Mure
9/3 Club Passim Labor Day Campfire Festival (Cambridge, MA)
9/1 The Burren w/ Datcha + Aerhart (Somerville, MA)
8/25/23 - House show w/ Aerhart & Allie Chipkin (Brooklyn)
8/19/23 - Rhizome w/ Kevin Knight & Norell (DC)
8/18/23 - Gallery 5 w/ Eli Owens & Cole Sullivan (Richmond, VA)
8/16/23 - Three’s Brewing w/ Kobi (Brooklyn)
7/23/23 - The Depot (Cambridge, NY)
7/22/23 - The Studio (Troy, NY)
7/21/23 - Lot 49 Books w/ No One and the Somebodies & Snow Caps (Philly)
6/8/23 - City Winery w/ Beccs (Boston, MA)
6/7/23 - The Depot w/ Lauren Balthrop & Joy Askew (Cambridge, NY)
6/6/23 - Club Passim w/ Lauren Balthrop & Joy Askew (Cambridge, MA)
6/5/23 - House show w/ Lauren Balthrop & Joy Askew (Litchfield, CT)
6/4/23 - Egremont Barn w/ Lauren Balthrop & Joy Askew (South Egremont, MA)
6/1/23 - Our Wicked Lady w/ Henry Grant & Wish Wish Band (Brooklyn)
5/16/23 - House show w/ Anjali Rose & Out of Sight of Land (Brooklyn)
5/14/23 - The House w/ Tendersong & (cyber)rain (Fredericksburg, VA)
5/13/23 - Town Hall w/ Eli(zabeth) Owens & Sun V Set (Richmond, VA)
5/12/23 - Current Space w/ Nourished By Time & Glorian (Baltimore, MD)
5/11/23 - Dwell DC w/ VirG & Kevin Knight (Washington, DC)
4/30/23 - The Studio w/ Blue Ranger (Troy, NY)
4/28/23 - House show w/ Noga (Beacon, NY)
4/7/23 - Littlefield album release show w/ Katy Pinke & Alena Spanger (Brooklyn)
2/26/23 - The Scratcher Sessions w/ Abby Ahmad & Mark Marshall (Manhattan)
1/19/23 - The Owl Music Parlor single + music video premiere show w/ Crosslegged & Elizabeth & the Catapult (Brooklyn)
12/4/22 - Caffeine Underground w/ Public Speaking, Fig, Johnny Butler (Brooklyn)
12/3/22 - The Record Shop w/ Miles Hewitt & Jackie West (Brooklyn)
11/5/22 - Berlin Under A w/ No One and the Somebodys, Bruiser and Bicycle, Bellows (Manhattan)
9/30/22 - The Owl Music Parlor w/ Wood River & Tree Palmedo (Brooklyn)
9/21/22 - The Avalon Lounge w/ Lady Jane & Rose Stoller (Catskill, NY)
9/11/22 - Hart Bar w/ rbke & Charlotte Jacobs (Brooklyn)
8/20/22 - Animal Home Festival at Holy Fang (Hopewell Junction, NY)
7/30/22 (CANCELLED) - Union Pool w/ Glenn Echo, Withe, A Day Without Love
6/30/22 - Owl Music Parlor w/ Sullivann (Brooklyn)
6/5/22 (CANCELLED) - Hart Bar w/ Charlotte Jacobs & Alexia Avina
5/29/22 - Arts Inn variety show (Fleischmanns)
5/14/22 (CANCELLED) - Pet Rescue w/ Laura Wolf & rbke
4/11/22 - Tradesman Bar w/ Katy the Kyng (Brooklyn)
4/8/22 - Freddy’s Bar w/ Glenn Echo & Nicomo (Brooklyn)
3/25/22 - The Avalon Lounge w/ Mackenzie Shivers & Glenn Echo (Catskill, NY)
12/6/21 - Paste Studio on the Road livestream
8/28/21 - Dave’s Lesbian Bar pop-up (Queens)
5/28/21 - Club Passim Campfire Festival livestream
1/21/21 - Dream City Radio livestream
8/28/20 - Launch Global livestream
2/24/20 - Lola NYC w/ Emmerson & Her Clammy Hands & Glenn Echo (Manhattan)
2/21/20 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Youth in a Roman Field & Kira Hooks (Brooklyn)
12/7/19 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Neha & Lauren Balthrop (Brooklyn)
past joanna schubert shows
11/30/19 - The Little (Rochester, NY)
11/17/19 - The Footlight Bar w/ Emmerson & Her Clammy Hands, Shilpa Ray, Odetta Hartman (Queens)
10/18/19 - A Modern Schubertiade house show w/ Glenn Echo (Brooklyn)
7/26/19 - A Modern Schubertiade house show w/ A. Charles (Brooklyn)
7/9/19 - Pete’s Candy Store w/ Emmerson & Her Clammy Hands (Brooklyn)
6/7/19 - Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 w/ Julia Mark (NYC)
5/11/19 - A Modern Schubertiade house show w/ Jess Clinton (Brooklyn)
4/14/19 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Bryn Bliska & The Foxy Johnstons (Brooklyn)
2/19/19 - Pete’s Candy Store (Brooklyn)
2/15/19 - The Lizard Lounge w/ Julia Mark (Cambridge, MA)
2/10/19 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Allegra Krieger & Katie Martucci (Brooklyn)
1/18/19 - Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 w/ Julia Mark (NYC)
1/3/19 - Sidewalk Cafe (NYC)
12/16/18 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Aleksandra Denda & Betty Wallingford (Brooklyn)
12/4/18 - Pete’s Candy Store (Brooklyn)
11/29/18 - The Footlight Bar w/ Jess Clinton, Georgia Sackler, Mackenzie Shivers (Queens)
11/4/18 - Bowery Electric Map Room w/ Erel (NYC)
10/28/18 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Emma Jayne & Tiff Ortiz (Brooklyn)
9/30/18 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Puck & Emmerson & Her Clammy Hands (Brooklyn)
9/12/18 - The Footlight Bar New Moon Art Salon (Queens)
9/5/18 - LIC Bar Cat Moms/Sad Songs w/ Georgia Sackler (Queens)
8/21/18 - SoFar Sounds w/ Julia Mark (DC)
8/20/18 - Teavolve w/ Julia Mark (Baltimore, MD)
8/16/18 - Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 w/ Julia Mark (NYC)
8/12/18 - The Burren w/ Julia Mark (Somerville, MA)
7/30/18 - LIC Bar (Queens)
6/17/18 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Erel & Catie Friel (Brooklyn)
5/20/18 - Mirror in the Woods Symbiosis Series w/ Jess Clinton, Georgia Sackler, Mackenzie Shivers (Brooklyn)
4/22/18 - Sekend Sun Queens Folk Collective Songwriter Sunday (Queens)
3/16/18 - Mirror in the Woods (Brooklyn)
2/9/18 - House show w/ Callison Stratton
6/27/17 - Thunder Road w/ That One-Eyed Kid & JBJ (Somerville, MA)
2/16/17 - Life Alive w/ Dana Peterson