Sevana is New Orleans bound and into her album era

There is poise in the way Sevana talks about where she is heading, musically. No rush. No spectacle. Just intention. When Sevana received the call confirming her performances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, it did not just feel like another booking.

“It felt like alignment,” she exclaimed.

This April, the Jamaican singer-songwriter will take the stage twice, including a special performance supporting the festival’s foundation initiative for young people pursuing music. It will also mark her first time visiting New Orleans, a city she has been reading about since she was a teenager.

“I been wanting to go to New Orleans since I was 15 years old … I imagine I romanticised touring the city quite a bit. I am drawn to its black history, Creole culture, mysticism, and architecture. I’m just looking forward to the experience,” she said.

The Westmoreland-born singer-songwriter has been putting out music at the intersection of reggae, soul, R&B, and jazz for several years. Her official arrival came with her self-titled EP, Sevana in 2016, which featured standout singles like Bit Too Shy and Carry You, signalling that Sevana was not trying to fit into a single-genre box. Critics praised her warm, smoky tone and introspective songwriting, often comparing her emotional delivery to neo-soul artistes. Bit Too Shy in particular became a breakout moment, earning strong radio play and solidifying her as one of reggae’s most promising young voices.

The New Orleans booking arrives as Sevana quietly enters a new chapter, one defined less by chasing visibility and more by building something lasting. After getting a taste of foreign stages with her Need Me UK tour, including sold-out shows and performances across the Caribbean and North America, the Brand New singer is now fully in album mode, preparing her first full-length project.

“Across the entire length and breadth of my recording career (over 10 years), I only have 20 songs total. So there is a real opportunity for me to continue to carve out my story in a way that is meaningful,” Sevana said.

Planned for release later this year, the album will span 10 to 12 tracks, a carefully curated body of work shaped by life experiences, personal observations, and emotional truth.

“My intention is to create a story sonically that’s in line with my life and to be very unapologetic about it. I think it is impossible to not come from a place of depth. There’s going to be a lot of truth in the album (so) it will be illuminating for people who have been supporting me. I want it to look, feel, and sound, exactly how I imagine it in my head.”

That story is shaped by resilience. Last year, even while navigating the aftermath of a hurricane that destroyed her mother’s home in Bath, a community in Westmoreland, Sevana continued to perform – including at Grenada’s Caribbean Music Festival – using her platform to raise awareness of the disaster and encourage support. “Most families were affected. So you just try to keep giving and look out for individuals you can help directly… well, look out for each other,” Sevana urged.

It is this grounded perspective that informs how she now moves through the industry. Looking back, one of her biggest lessons has been learning discernment, especially early in her career.

She said, “It’s the people you choose to be around. When you’re young, and in most cases, more naïve to the goings-on of the music industry, you feel like the first person who gives you attention, you have to take it. But a probationary period is a blessing in disguise … use that time to figure out if you and people mesh. You need time. Trust your gut and believe in your value, but don’t inflate it either.”

She also spoke candidly about the importance of legal guidance, prayer, and self-awareness, acknowledging that talent alone is not enough. Alignment matters. So does honesty, Sevana expressed. “If you can’t be honest with yourself, you can’t honour yourself. You have to do constant introspection. The industry is exploitative and glamorous at the same time. It takes a toll emotionally, physically, spiritually. It’s easy to lose yourself.”

As she prepares to step on to one of the world’s most storied festival stages, Sevana is not chasing moments. She’s creating meaning, grounded in culture, led by emotion, and finally giving herself the space to fully tell her story.