Justine Lucas
About the Artist
There are artists who find their sound—and artists who spend a lifetime collecting stories until a sound finds them.
Justine Lucas is one of the latter.
A singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and storyteller based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Justine has spent her life moving between worlds: from intimate folk songs and smoky jazz clubs to circus stages, cabarets, and collaborations with musicians from around the globe. Along the way, she has gathered an eclectic musical vocabulary shaped by bluegrass, Appalachian folk, country, blues, swing, jazz, and gypsy jazz.
Her voice has been described by SF Deli Magazine as “softly haunting,” while the SF Bay Guardian once likened her music to “a folky Appalachian holiday.” But perhaps the most distinctive thing about Justine's music is its sense of character. Her songs don't simply tell stories—they seem to inhabit them.
"Wild Rider"
Original song by Justine Lucas. Performed by Justine Lucas & Lee Corbie-Wells.
From Circus to Cabaret 🎪
Her musical journey has taken her far beyond the traditional singer-songwriter path. Years spent touring with circus companies throughout the United States and Canada introduced her to performers and musicians from around the world, expanding her sense of rhythm, movement, theater, and storytelling.
Those experiences became part of her music.
You may remember her as the lead singer of The Jaunting Martyrs, or as one half of the duo Two Drifters, or through one of her collaborations with fire-fiddler Lee Corbie-Wells, or perhaps simply as Madame Z, the enigmatic frontwoman of her Jazz Cabaret and Big Band, created with co-composer Jonah Udall.
Whether she's singing a quiet, haunting ballad, playing a lively bluegrass tune, or stepping onto the stage as Madame Z, Justine brings the same quality to her work: a deep love of story, a fascination with the unusual, and a voice that makes you want to lean closer and listen.
Her music lives somewhere between the old world and the new—where folk songs meet jazz, where circus meets cabaret, and where every song feels like it has a story waiting to be discovered.
From Cabaret to Caravan 🎡
Justine Lucas Caravan is a wandering little musical world unto itself. Part folk band, part Bohemian brigade, the Caravan gathers together acoustic instruments, earthy harmonies, gypsy jazz, bluegrass, blues, and Americana and sends them rolling down the road in a warm, slightly ragged, wonderfully timeless procession. At the center are Justine’s folkloric songs: heartfelt, poetic, and sometimes a little mischievous, with lyrics that reach beneath the surface and linger there. Each song begins with Justine and comes alive through the Caravan’s collective arrangements, creating music that feels at once familiar and entirely its own—like discovering an old traveling band in a place you never expected to find one.
Justine Lucas performs with a number of bands in the SF Bay Area
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Justine's music is inspired by the traditions of Folk, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Blues, Jazz, & Gypsy Swing. Her love for poetry and natural science plays a role in her inter-song world-building. She combines stories from her own life, from characters she's met, mythology, folklore, and her own imagination.
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