Brooklyn-born surrealist blues poet aja monet makes her Melbourne debut at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, presenting her new album the color of rain, accompanied by her outstanding US-based trio.

monet emerged from New York City’s legendary Lower East Side poetry clubs, becoming the youngest winner of the Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam at 19, before evolving into a touring bandleader and frequent collaborator with today’s leading voices in jazz and soul. Her performances have filled venues and festivals worldwide, from the Newport, North Sea and Montréal Jazz Festivals, to the Guggenheim Bilbao, and the Barbican Centre where she headlined as the London Jazz Festival’s 2025 Artist in Residence.

As one strides through the color of rain, each piece moves between musical perceptions of jazz, soul, hiphop and rhythm and blues, reminding us that poetry predates the very blueprints of genre. Described by the Los Angeles Times, “her poems are powerful and dangerous, like violets pushing through concrete to kiss the sun,” monet’s work speaks with urgency and honesty — exploring Black resistance, love and joy with grace and emotional precision.

Witness an unforgettable night as aja monet transforms the room into a living canvas of sound, story and collective listening.