After more than a dozen years sidelined, Tucson singer-songwriter releasing debut solo CD

Joyce Luna had hoped to launch her solo music career even before the veteran folk musician moved from the East Coast to Tucson 11 years ago.

But a mysterious orthopedic condition that left her hand numb led to years of doctors visits with no answers before she was finally diagnosed four years ago with a congenital defect centered in her ribs. The condition was compressing her pulmonary blood vessels, leading to the numbness.

“I don’t really throw the word miracle around,” she said, but the diagnosis and the surgery to fix it after so many years of no answers felt pretty miraculous.

So nearly a dozen years after her last musical venture, a long-running contemporary folk duet in Massachusetts, Luna is releasing her debut solo CD, “Every Road We Take.”

“I am really happy with the results. I spent a lot of time on all of the little details, which I think make or break a record,” said Luna, who will celebrate the CD release with a concert Saturday, June 23, at Water of Life Church. “I feel like I made the absolute best album that I could within the constraints of my budget and also within the constraints of what I knew how to do at the time, and that’s all I can ever hope to do.”

Luna started crowdsource fundraising for the project in April 2017 and went into the studio with Ryan Green (Ryanhood), who co-produced the project, that July. They wrapped up in April.

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Luna described “Every Road” as a snapshot in time, one that takes listeners on a journey that she hopes ends in a more hopeful place. There’s cautious optimism for love in the title track and an anxious excitement of making the move to the “First Kiss.”

Luna’s softly quivering alto adds a layer of sultry on the sexy “Sip of Your Water,” then segues to an almost Stevie Nicks-esque quality on “Choose,” whose message of love’s sacrifices is wrapped in gorgeous strings.

“Every Road” takes a turn into the political with the powerful anti-gun anthem “We Shall Be Seen.” Backed by a small multigenerational choir, Luna vows that “as we speak truth to power in every town,” those affected by gun violence from Tucson to Parkland, Florida, shall be seen: “We shine so bright / we light up everything / We raise our voices / We shall be heard.”

Luna, who works as a mental-health counselor, said she hopes the song will encourage people to continue working toward gun control even when they get discouraged by broken promises.

“I wrote this song for those of us who are working for this and are exhausted at how long this takes,” she said. “I refuse to believe this will not change. I cannot live in a world where I would have to believe that.”

Saturday’s concert begins at 7 p.m.