Sona Jobarteh

Sona Jobarteh, a Gambian-English singer and multi-instrumentalist, performs at Band On The Wall, a live music venue in Manchester's Northern Quarter. The concert brings the kora player and singer to the city.

Sona Jobarteh is a Gambian-English singer and multi-instrumentalist, born in London in 1983 and active as a musician since 1987. Her family belongs to the griot tradition of West Africa, and she is credited as the first woman from one of its five griot dynasties to become a professional kora player. She began learning the instrument at the age of three, with her brother Tunde Jegede and her father Sanjally Jobarteh, and her cousin was the late Toumani Diabaté.

Her debut album, Fasiya, appeared in 2011. Her latest album, Badinyaa Kumoo, was named among the best albums of its year by Songlines Magazine, and her single "Gambia" has drawn a large online audience. She has performed in Europe, Africa and the United States, including at London's Barbican, and has collaborated with LL Cool J, contributing to the song "Black Code Suite" on his album The FORCE. She also appeared as a guest on "Se a Vida Pede" by the Brazilian group Gilsons.

The venue, in Manchester's Northern Quarter, mainly hosts concerts, with a focus on pop, rock and indie acts.