Joy Machuga, known as Joy On Drums, has been playing the drum kit for over 30 years. She grew up in the orchards of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, raised by a poet and a percussionist. During her school years, she studied piano, dance, theatre, and choir. Both of her parents were musicians and she was surrounded by music  and encouraged to play and perform. Throughout high school, she played in bands and organized shows as a promoter for all-ages punk events. After graduating high school, Joy became the first female drummer to complete the Contemporary Music and Technology program at Selkirk College in Nelson, BC.

She then moved to Vancouver to build a music career as a genre-fluid, versatile drummer, writing, recording, and touring.  Joy has toured internationally and collaborated with musicians like Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Tia Wood, Cris Derksen, Rae Spoon, Christa Couture, Miss Quincy, and The Doers. She has also been a member of her own bands, such as Basic Instinct, E.S.L., Fortresses, The People Verses, and Joyce Collingwood. Joy has performed at major folk festivals across Canada, including Winnipeg Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival, Dawson City Music Festival, Calgary Folk Festival, Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival, and Planet IndigenUS.

She received invitations to perform at the 2025 Juno Awards, the 2013 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, and The Truth and Reconciliation National Event. Other projects she recorded have been featured on radio, film, and television, including Lucid, CBC’s Canada Live, 8th Fire, Much Music’s Going Coastal, and APTN’s Nagawomin The Song with Cris Derksen.

Joy has also worked as the Artistic Director at the WISE Hall and Lounge, the lesson coordinator at Rufus Guitar and Drum Shop, the Volunteer Coordinator and a founding organizer for Girls Rock Camp Vancouver. She served as an Artist in Residence for the City of Vancouver, worked at Cory Weeds’ Jazz Cellar, and programmed events at The Waldorf Hotel. In 2012, Joy was a guest programmer for Brief Encounters 18, an interdisciplinary performance series. She currently teaches private lessons at Drums Only, focusing on creating curriculum for beginners and young students. In addition, she has developed a visual art practice, making art from upcycled drum parts and creating fiber art wall hangings. Her exhibits have been featured at Woodstove Festival, Unwritten Weekend Festival, and Parksville Museum.

Joy (She/Her/Hers) is a white settler currently living on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations’ territories.