For Martin, soccer and jazz share a common spirit. Both ask us to respond to the moment, Martin says. A jazz musician listens, adapts, improvises, and finds connection with the people around them. Soccer asks the same thing. The game belongs to everyone, but every player, supporter, and community experiences it differently. Soccer Watch Night is my attempt to tell some of those stories through rhythm, voice, memory, and sound.
—Qiana Martin
As FIFA World Cup 2026 arrives in the United States, vocalist, spoken-word artist, composer, and storyteller Qiana Martin is inviting listeners to experience the world's game through a distinctly American sonic lens.
Soccer Watch Night is a 30-minute audio experience featuring 24 original spoken-word pieces, chants, songs, and storytelling works inspired by soccer culture, American musical traditions, and the communal act of gathering around sound. Available for streaming now throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament until July 20, 2026, the project draws inspiration from call-and-response traditions, field hollers, spirituals, blues, jazz, folk storytelling, and the oral traditions that have shaped American cultural expression for generations.
Raised in South Carolina and classically trained as a pianist, Martin's earliest musical experiences came through church congregations where she served as a pianist alongside her mother, an organist and former member of the historic Boggs Academy A Cappella Choir. Those influences later merged with a lifelong passion for soccer that has taken Martin across cultures as a player, coach, educator, and advocate.
Rather than focusing solely on the action between the lines, Soccer Watch Night explores the emotional and human stories that surround the game—anticipation, resilience, belonging, joy, heartbreak, humor, family, community, and hope. The collection reflects observations gathered from years of traveling, coaching youth players, leading soccer programs for older adults, and witnessing how people from vastly different backgrounds connect through a shared love of the sport.
For Martin, soccer and jazz share a common spirit.
"Both ask us to respond to the moment," Martin says. "A jazz musician listens, adapts, improvises, and finds connection with the people around them. Soccer asks the same thing. The game belongs to everyone, but every player, supporter, and community experiences it differently. Soccer Watch Night is my attempt to tell some of those stories through rhythm, voice, memory, and sound.”
The release arrives during a historic cultural moment as the United States hosts FIFA World Cup 2026 while approaching the nation's 250th anniversary. Through storytelling, chant, spoken word, and song, Soccer Watch Night explores what an American soccer soundtrack might sound like when informed by generations of communal music-making and oral tradition.
Listeners can preview a 60-second sampler and purchase streaming access for $15. Access remains available throughout the tournament period, allowing families, fans, players, and communities to return to the experience throughout the summer.
Soccer Watch Night is a 30-minute audio experience featuring 24 original spoken-word pieces, chants, songs, and storytelling works inspired by soccer culture, American musical traditions, and the communal act of gathering around sound. Available for streaming now throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament until July 20, 2026, the project draws inspiration from call-and-response traditions, field hollers, spirituals, blues, jazz, folk storytelling, and the oral traditions that have shaped American cultural expression for generations.
Raised in South Carolina and classically trained as a pianist, Martin's earliest musical experiences came through church congregations where she served as a pianist alongside her mother, an organist and former member of the historic Boggs Academy A Cappella Choir. Those influences later merged with a lifelong passion for soccer that has taken Martin across cultures as a player, coach, educator, and advocate.
Rather than focusing solely on the action between the lines, Soccer Watch Night explores the emotional and human stories that surround the game—anticipation, resilience, belonging, joy, heartbreak, humor, family, community, and hope. The collection reflects observations gathered from years of traveling, coaching youth players, leading soccer programs for older adults, and witnessing how people from vastly different backgrounds connect through a shared love of the sport.
For Martin, soccer and jazz share a common spirit.
"Both ask us to respond to the moment," Martin says. "A jazz musician listens, adapts, improvises, and finds connection with the people around them. Soccer asks the same thing. The game belongs to everyone, but every player, supporter, and community experiences it differently. Soccer Watch Night is my attempt to tell some of those stories through rhythm, voice, memory, and sound.”
The release arrives during a historic cultural moment as the United States hosts FIFA World Cup 2026 while approaching the nation's 250th anniversary. Through storytelling, chant, spoken word, and song, Soccer Watch Night explores what an American soccer soundtrack might sound like when informed by generations of communal music-making and oral tradition.
Listeners can preview a 60-second sampler and purchase streaming access for $15. Access remains available throughout the tournament period, allowing families, fans, players, and communities to return to the experience throughout the summer.
