On Monday, October 3rd, 2005, SOMI will return to Joe's Pub to exhale a belly full of stories on life, love, and liberation. Originally from Uganda and Rwanda, SOMI's music gives voice to the post-colonial African experience in the Diaspora with an authentic blend of the contemporary and the traditional. First seen in the New York City area as the featured vocalist with the African Globe Theater production Drums Under the African Sky, SOMI was soon after seen in Source Magazine alongside Geffen recording artist Mos Def and other influential lyricists in an anti-police brutality project entitled "Hip-Hop for Respect".

A former background singer, she has worked with Bliss Life recording artist Amel Larrieux and Broadway's Tony Award-winning South African diva Tsidii Le Loka; thus, SOMI's international appeal is a reflection of her diverse experience and influences. Since her 2000 New York City debut, SOMI has performed at Joe's Pub, S.O.B.'s, Central Park's Bandshell Concert Series, The Museum for African Art, The Village Underground, and Sweet Rhythm to name a few. In February 2002, SOMI performed on national television when she appeared on The Ananda Lewis Show as "one of the most talented up-and-coming-artists," and again in May of 2002, when she performed on BET's 106 & Park proving her amazing ability to reach a wide range of audiences. In June 2002, she reached greater accolades as she was invited to perform in New York City's prestigious JVC Jazz Festival with the Harlem Jazztet, and soon after performed at Chicago's famed South Shore Jazz Festival and the city's premiere venues like the Hot House and The Green Mill.

In the Summer of 2003, SOMI celebrated the release of her debut album Eternal Motive at the legendary Blue Note jazz club in New York City, and she has since been invited to perform at the Atlanta Jazz Festival to open for N-coded recording artist Maysa of Incognito, and Blue Note Records artists Soul Live and Eddie Palmieri; The New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Sounds of the City Festival, The Epcot Center's World Music Festival, Chicago Tribune's African Festival of the Arts, and Montreal's famous Maison du Jazz. In 2004, SOMI was featured as a most promising young songwriter in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Playback Magazine while touring through in Canada, Europe, and Rwanda. She ended the year lending background vocals to Roy Hargrove's Grammy-nominated Strength EP (Verve) and sharing the New Year's Eve stage at the Blue Note in New York with Cassandra Wilson.

Earlier this year, SOMI was also featured on CNN International for her work as a performance artist to empower post-genocidal Rwanda. Following a highly praised performance in the renowned Times' Square venue B.B.King's, SOMI is currently finishing her highly-anticipated sophomore release entitled Red Soil In My Eyes which celebrates her East African heritage while staying true to soul and jazz traditions. The juxtaposition of her mellifluous voice and the ferociously beautiful acoustic composition of her band creates organic textures that are at once haunting and sweet, subtle and profound.

Please join us for an evening of sound and inspiration. Reservations are recommended.
Somi - vocals; Herve Samb - guitar; Daniel Moreno - percussion; George Farmer - bass; Toru Dodo - piano; Chanda Rule & Nicole Williams - bkg. vocals

Joe's Pub is located at:
425 Lafayette Street
New York City
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED
$20 at the door (www.telecharge.com)
212.539.8500
www.joespub.com
www.somisunshine.com

This event is part of the Fourth Annual Daniel Pearl Music Days global network of concerts using the universal language of music to diminish hatred, respect differences and reach out in friendship. SOMI joins thousands of musicians in hundreds of concerts and dozens of countries, ringing the world in a musical affirmation of the oneness of mankind. www.music-days.org