SOMI
(Booking in North America and South America)
Responsible Agents:
Chris Weller
chris@bigfishbookingco.com
Ryan Anderson
ryan@bigfishbookingco.com
Territories:
Worldwide (excluding Europe, Africa, & South Africa)
WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
PROMO PHOTOS
BIOGRAPHY
LINEUP:
Somi:
5-6piece touring ensemble: (vocals, drums, bass, piano, guitar + optional horn)
Somi: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba
*SPECIAL PROJECT AVAIL UPON REQUEST*
A Full concert performance of the repertoire from her album, Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba (2022).
Solist:
Available to perform as a featured soloist with big bands. Somi has her own book of music and arrangements.
TOUR:
2026 - Available upon request
2027 - Available upon request
NEW ALBUM:
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BLOOM? RELEASED AUGUST 2026 (Salon Africana)
PAST ALBUM:
Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba (2022)
Somi's award-winning tribute to the late South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba with special guests include Gregory Porter, Angelique Kidjo, Seun Kuti, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Thandiswa Mazwai, Msaki, and Nduduzo Makhathini.
BIO:
“A virtuosic performer in full command of her instrument and powers.” – The New York Times
Vocalist, composer, actor, and playwright Somi Kakoma is the Midwestern daughter of immigrants from Uganda and Rwanda. Hailed by The New York Times as “a virtuosic performer in full command of her instrument and powers,” she is known in the international jazz world simply as ‘Somi’. Her 2021 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album made her the first African woman ever nominated in any of the Grammy jazz categories. Her last release, Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba, was a companion project to the critically acclaimed original musical “Dreaming Zenzile” that Somi also wrote and starred in Off-Broadway as a tribute to the great South African singer and activist. She released her latest album, What Does It Take to Bloom?, in August 2026.
Somi is a recipient of two NAACP Image Awards for Best Jazz Album and a Doris Duke Artist Award. She is also a Soros Equality Fellow, United States Artist Fellow, TED Senior Fellow, Sundance Theatre Fellow, and the founder of Salon Africana – a boutique cultural agency and record label. A truly multidimensional artist, Somi made her Broadway debut in the titular role of the TONY Award winning original production of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”. Most recently, she was commissioned to record her original song ‘Holy Room’ for Carrie Mae Weems’ permanent installation Cool Blue Wind at The Obama Presidential Center.
She holds degrees in Cultural Anthropology and African Studies from the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master’s degree in Performance Studies from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, and a PhD in Critical Inquiry & Creative Practice from Harvard University. In her heart of hearts, she loves family, poetry, and freedom.
www.somimusic.com @somimusic
VIDEOS:
PRESS:
"A performer in full command of her instrument and her powers...her singing seems as effortless as it is varied, as easy as it is virtuosic." - The New York Times (LINK)
"It is so deftly written, and performed with such luminous grace, that it's hard to imagine anyone coming away less than transfixed." - Wall Street Journal (LINK)
"A superb jazz singer, Somi has lived in various parts of Africa and creates an elegant and highly individualized amalgam of the musics she has loved and the bi-continental experiences that have shaped her life." - NPR (LINK)
"Somi’s songs gracefully fuse African-tinged grooves, supple jazz singing and compassionate social consciousness; they’re both serious and seductive." - The New York Times (LINK)
"Somi shows herself to be an ambitious artist... [and] a tough act to follow." - NPR (LINK)