If you’ve ever eaten at Magleby’s on Main Street in Springville, you may have met Darrell Braham. He’s a friendly, charismatic fellow, but even upon meeting him, you might be surprised to learn his story. Braham has a long history with music, having been involved with the industry for 50 years, and now he’s quietly the frontman for a group of singers calling themselves “Joyful,” which is exactly the feeling they’re trying to spread.
A native of Berkley, in California’s Bay Area, Braham moved to Utah in 1986 as a destination wedding singer. With 50 years in the business, he’s been all over and played all kinds of venues, from performing with “KISS” and “Tower of Power” to leading a long-running, 18-member Motown tribute performance hosted at the SCERA Shell in Orem.
“I’ve done everything,” Braham says. “I’ve been in bands all through Salt Lake for most of my life.”
Though he’s recently retired, Braham isn’t quite done with singing. He’s put together a diverse group of singers with different musical tastes and sensibilities. Together, they’ve started performing together in a karaoke-like, jukebox reverie.
“We’re doing anything we can. We’re just kind of doing it for fun and to bring joy and just to stay busy.
“Joyful” has six members, including Braham. They come from all different corners of Springville with all different backgrounds, ranging from the owner of the Mark Anthony Salon & Day Spa in Springville to a strong LaShanda Terry the director of the “Joyful” voices.
“We just like having fun,” Braham said. “All of us have full-time jobs and certain things like that. But it’s enjoyable, you know. It’s electric. We just kind of get together and we sing classics, songs that people can sing along with.”
The group has been together for about a year and a half, practicing together at a member’s house. Each singer has his or her own specialty and preferred genre of music.
“We have a variety,” Braham said. “We have Garrett Briggs who sings country. Mark Valencia sings a lot of Elvis. I do a lot of soul music, some classics like “My Girl” from The Temptations to “Stand By Me” by Benny King . Careshmeh French-Dean sings anything from ‘The Greatest Showman’ to Natalie Cole or anything like that. LesaBelle Thomas, with a smooth silky voice sings songs like “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus. LaShanda Terry sings some of the greatest voices from Aretha Franklin, to Etta James “At Last” and others. We’re very, very diverse. ”
So far, “Joyful” has performed a few shows, but they’re looking to start performing more. Primarily, Braham says, they’re looking into assisted living centers, where they feel that they can best spread some joy singing to the residents there. With the summer season winding down, they’re looking at being hired for backyard parties and get-togethers, likely starting next year. They’ve also done some charitable work, recently performing for homeless children.
For the time being, “Joyful” plans to stay local. With his background in destination weddings, however, Braham says he’d be up to traveling if the opportunity arose. The group is building out its website and getting social media accounts ready, in order to have a presence online.
Typically, the group’s sets last about an hour to an hour and a half, and they hope in that time that they’re able to spread a little happiness while entertaining their audiences. There’s an undercurrent in everything Braham says that implies the universality of music and its ability to make people happy.
Throughout the winter, Joyful will continue to rehearse together, picking up shows whenever the opportunity arises. For now, they’re just enjoying the music and being able to share the thing that they love.
“I’ve been doing it for 50 years. So, I just enjoy making people happy,” Braham says. “I think they all do.”
Reach Braham at 801-403-9588 or stop by Magleby’s and say hello. Or you can always stop in and see Mark at Mark Anthony Salon at 191 South Main Springville.
