Sona Jobarteh

The spirit of Sona Jobarteh’s musical work stands on the mighty shoulders of the West African griot musician and storyteller traditions; she is a living archive of the Gambian people. With one ear on the family’s historic reputation, one on the all-important future legacy and her heart in both places, she is preparing a place today for the next generation. Her singing and Kora playing while fronting her band spring directly from this tradition. The extent of her recognition today is evidenced by more than 23 million watchers on YouTube and considerable numbers on other digital platforms. All this despite singing in her native languages and keeping to her own path within the music industry.

Sona Jobarteh’s live performances and speaking engagements zoomed to 52 performances with 12 sell outs during 2019, and post-pandemic to 67 in 2022, with 15 USA dates ranging from the Hollywood Bowl to Symphony Space in NYC. Sona has performed sold-out concerts at The Barbican in London, in Cologne’s Philharmonie, and at the Seine Musicale in Paris. Her band performances are under-pinned by her skills as a composer arising from early days at London’s RCM and Purcell School of Music. She scored the film Motherland in 2010, and by 2022 was scoring some of the Hollywood blockbuster Beast, co-writing a track on LL Cool J’s latest with Q Tip, and filming several of her live shows for CBS’ 60 Minutes.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience in person the beautiful artistry of this multi-instrumentalist and singer.