About the Artist
Jon Muq is a Ugandan-born, Austin-based singer-songwriter. He taught himself English by singing to homeless children in Kampala, learned hundreds of songs performing on a Norwegian cruise ship, and walked into Austin during South by Southwest after coming to the States for a refugee fundraiser. His debut album, Flying Away, came out in 2024 with Dan Auerbach producing for Easy Eye Sound. He has opened for Billy Joel, Mavis Staples, and Norah Jones, and now runs a small Afrobeats label, Shake It Africa.
Jon Muq
About the Episode (Episode 130)
Jon Muq: A Voice That Fits the Tune
Jason English sat down with Jon Muq at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida, two years after Jon first crossed his radar there. The story is one most people would call impossible: from one meal a day in Uganda to a debut album made with one of the most sought-after producers in American music. Through all of it, Jon stays exactly himself, genuinely puzzled by why anyone in a country with five-minute chicken wings would feel stressed.
Key Conversation Points
A voice that fits the tune: As a kid he found a CD with "We Are the World" on it and played it on repeat. "If all these people can sing in one tune in different voices, that means my voice can fit in a tune."
The captive audience: He practiced on homeless children in Kampala, then on cruise ship passengers, where the director gave him a line he never forgot. "Don't worry, they won't jump off the boat."
Choosing joy on purpose: Friends were stressed about losing a job, then stressed about getting one, and it made no sense to him. So he made a decision. "I'm gonna choose to just create an album of happy songs to make people feel like they don't need to worry about anything."
There is a lot more here: the first date that taught him about red flags, the song Dan Auerbach pulled off a vinyl and handed him, and what a man who once chased chickens for dinner makes of an industry now run by algorithms. Watch the full conversation below.