Announcing Joy Ike! The CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market special surprise musical guest and winner of the City Paper's Best of 2008.

I am very pleased to announce that Joy Ike will be performing at the CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market!

According to the Post-Gazette, Joy Ike is "a neo-soul contender in the vein of Corrine Bailey Rae or Norah Jones."

And when it comes to the City Paper, she is ranked the Best Artist and Best Solo Artist of 2008.

The Pittsburgh-grown, Nigerian singer/songwriter has only been writing and performing for 3 ½ years but in that short amount of time has garnered much success in the independent music scene. Check out her myspace: www.myspace.com/joyike where you can download her new song, Citizens, for free!

"I love making music and am so excited that people actually want to listen to it! People always ask me where my favorite place to play is. I always tell them 'Outside'. That's because there are alot of great Art and Craft Festivals that take place outside during the summer, including I Made It, The Shadyside Arts Festival, and Sundae Flea Market. I first heard about Etsy through a fan and crafter who sent me an email this summer, so I'm definitely looking forward to the Etsy Holiday Happy Hour."

Joy describes her music as an indie-infused mix of jazz, pop, and neo-soul. Her first full-length album, Good Morning was released in June 2008 and has received rave reviews from local and national media alike.

Come to Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and hear Joy Ike as well as shop from numerous talented artisans.

Introducing Frank Piscopo! Today's CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market Featured Musician.

I'm pleased to introduce you to today’s featured CityCraft musician - Frank Piscopo.

Frank says, " After not touching it for over 25 years, I picked up my guitar in the spring of 2004 and wrote my first song. I don’t think I will ever set it down again. I am a self taught musician/singer/songwriter. I started playing publicly two years ago. My music is a throw back to the 70 and 80’s.

You can usually catch me playing at Café Kolache on a Saturday evening in Beaver PA. Or, at the Club Café on the Southside on Monday nights."

For more about Frank, and for a list of his upcoming shows, check out his MySpace page.

Come to Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and hear Frank Piscopo perform along with Melissa Babyak and our special surprise musical guest (to be revealed on the blog soon).

Melissa Babyak will be performing at the CityCraft Handmade Holiday Happy Hour Market

Come to Navarra on December 18th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to shop local, shop handmade, and see Melissa Babyak perform.

From Melissa's MySpace page: "Melissa will be the first to admit that she bought her guitar on QVC and isn’t a “polished” musician, but she is completely fulfilled with happiness while she’s performing. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, plays music because it’s fun, and loves interacting with the audience! Melissa is grateful for every single musician out there who continues to inspire her to play, write and most of all, have fun!"