Jay Hoad is an acclaimed songwriter and performer and also fronts an extremely high energy six piece band... with a beautiful belly dancer. Hoad’s creative compositions blend funk, rock, reggae, latin, pop and jazz with traditional Australian influences punctuated by dynamic horn infused arrangements and unique blends of instrumentation. Jay plays up to 15 instruments throughout his shows including acoustic bass, electric bass, didjeridoo, dobro, lap steel guitar, 12-string guitar, ocarina and more.

Jay originally hails from South Australia where he earned a university degree in jazz performance on the acoustic and electric bass. Hoad left Australia in 2004 to tour the US and Europe with the Australian Jazz Quartet and has since performed with Dionne Warwick, the Temptations, the Drifters, Blood Sweat & Tears among others. In 2007 Jay temporarily settled in the United States to concentrate on performing and touring with his newly formed group, the Jay Hoad Band.

The Jay Hoad Band recently released their much anticipated multi-genre debut album "Warmth in the White" which was conceived and written while on tour in Australia and recorded in the US in early 2008. Hoad’s composition "Rat Race" received recent acclimation in the Australian Songwriter’s Association competition. Song lyrics, although delivered in a fun and exciting manner, focus on many controversial subjects including environmental issues, political contradiction and many other random observations culled from his world travels.

Jay is currently again touring worldwide, this time refining his acclaimed solo show while he readies a follow up album of new compositions with release expected in early 2011. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.