“The earthy gutsiness of Nina Simone blended with the vocal beauty of Dianne Reeves.” - JazzTimes
Born in the American Midwest to immigrants from Rwanda and Uganda, vocalist and songwriter Somi draws inspiration from her multicultural background and international travels to create a lush Afro-beat straddling the worlds of jazz, soul, and pop. With powerful expressiveness and a unique style of melodic storytelling, she is hailed as a modern day Miriam Makeba.
Somi will perform songs from her repertoire, both old and new, joined by guitarist Nir Felder, pianist Toru Dodo, bassist Ben Williams, and drummer Nate Smith.
Somi is a BAC Resident Artist alumna.
Leadership support for music programming in 2016 provided by the Anne and Chris Flowers Foundation and the Thompson Family Foundation.
Somi
Vocalist & songwriter Somi was born in Illinois to immigrants from Rwanda and Uganda. The Huffington Post recently dubbed her “the new Nina Simone,” while NPR describes her as “an ambitious artist and superb jazz singer [who] creates an elegant amalgam of her bi-continental experiences.”