Sona Jobarteh

Born in London in 1983 into a line of Mandinka griots, Sona Jobarteh has developed a career spanning The Gambia and the United Kingdom, where she trained in both classical music and West African traditions. A singer, composer and instrumentalist centered on the kora, she grounds her work in Mandinka music while incorporating elements of acoustic folk, afro‑pop and sometimes jazz, with lyrics in Mandinka and English. After musical studies in London she performed with various ensembles before releasing the album Afro‑Acoustic Soul in 2008, followed by Fasiya in 2011 and Badinyaa Kumoo in 2022, which consolidated a writing style built on kora motifs, choral passages and discreet string arrangements. Sona Jobarteh appears at numerous world‑music and jazz festivals across Europe, Africa and North America, and occasionally collaborates with artists such as Toumani Diabaté and Oumou Sangaré. Alongside her musical career she founded The Gambia Academy in The Gambia, an educational institution that combines general schooling with traditional musical practice for young pupils.