SOMI

About

Vocalist, composer, actor, and playwright Somi Kakoma is a sublimely gifted artist possessed of rare power and clarity. A Doris Duke Performing Artist Award winner, TED Senior Fellow, and the first African artist nominated for the GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album, she is “a virtuosic performer in full command of her instrument and powers” ( The New York Times ). Following her standout performance at the 42nd San Francisco Jazz Festival in 2025, she returns for a night on the Miner Auditorium stage. Born into a Rwandan & Ugandan family, the Illinois-born Kakoma spent her early childhood in Zambia, where she absorbed the music of her adopted home before returning to the States for college studies in anthropology and music — a balance of interests that has come to define her singular vision. Somi was championed and mentored by the iconic South African jazz giant Hugh Masekela and released her 2007 debut Red Soil in My Eyes for Harmonia Mundi’s World Village label — a release that set her on the path to worldwide recognition and globe-spanning tours. 2014’s major label debut The Lagos Music Salon hit #1 on the Billboard jazz chart and featured guest appearances by Common and Angelique Kidjo. Her latest album, What Does It Take To Bloom? , is a deeply personal song cycle on becoming and the courage to come home to oneself.