Joanne began singing at the age of 5 with the family band and writing songs when she was 11 years old. In 1994 she recorded and released an independent EP in Canada under the name Joanne Allen, which included 4 of her original songs. She achieved moderate success with this, including a nomination for "Female Vocalist of the Year" from the BC Country Music Association.

Concurrently, Joanne was the opening act for the Merritt Mountain Music Festival in both 1995 and 1997. Joanne then began to focus more on developing and perfecting her craft and talent as a songwriter, learning to play guitar and participating in songwriting workshops.

Joanne now performs her original material and participates in song circles, most recently sharing the stage with Roy Forbes and Bill Henderson. In March of 2002 Joanne independently produced and released a singer/songwriter's CD entitled "Fly or Fall" highlighting 12 original songs which display joanne's charismatic style and warm personality.