Sona Jobarteh
The first virtuoso woman of the kora — Cultural Icon Award 2026 — Kora player, singer and composer — grotic Gambian music
Biographie
Born in London in 1983 into a great Gambian griot lineage, Sona Jobarteh is the first woman to become a professional kora player — an instrument long reserved for men. Trained between The Gambia and London, she released Afro-Acoustic Soul (2008), Fasiya (2011) and Badinyaa Kumoo (2022). In 2015, she founded the Gambia Academy, an Africa-centred school. On October 11, 2026, the Silicon Valley African Film Festival presented her with its Cultural Icon Award. Official Facebook page: facebook.com/sonajobarteh.
Distinctions and benchmarks
['2026 Cultural Icon Award from Silicon Valley African Film Festival — its highest distinction (11 October 2026)', "First professional female kora player from a line of griots", "Fondatrix de la Gambia Academy (2015), school for education centered on Africa"]
Discographie
['Afro-Acoustic Soul (2008)', 'Fasiya (2011)', 'Badinyaa Kumoo (2022)']
On the Poster — Festivals
- 2018 — Africa Festival Würzburg: Official video of the festival announcing its arrival at the 30th edition — See the festival entry
- 2023 — Louisiana International Festival, Lafayette: Concert filmed by AOC Community Media, documentation partner of the festival — See the festival entry
See also
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Live at the Festival International de Louisiane 2023 (AOC Community Media)
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'Gambia' — official presentation of her appearance at Africa Festival Würzburg 2018
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Concert at the Franz Liszt University of Music, Weimar, 2015
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Live at Pencha Mi, Banjul (The Gambia) — LSSE TV
In our articles
In Lafayette, the Festival International de Louisiane makes the Francophonie dance
In San Jose, the Silicon Valley African Film Festival crowns Sona Jobarteh
Sona Jobarteh crowned in San Jose: the kora receives the Silicon Valley African Film Festival's highest honour
Performing formats
- Concert — main stage
- Festival — headliner