Thu 16 October 2025 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Rokia Koné

at Turner Sims Southampton

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£20.00

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What's On / Southampton / Music

Please note: Info provided by the Event Organiser

One of Mali’s most beloved and dynamic artists, Rokia Koné is a force to be reckoned with.

She has a voice that soars above infectious Mande guitar grooves and traditional percussion. Her captivating performances run the gamut of emotion from joy to despair, fury to tenderness. She wields that astounding voice with grace and power.

Born and raised in Ségou, the cradle of the ancient Bamana kingdom, Rokia draws on a rich tradition of griot storytelling. She has a deep connection with her Malian ancestry. Her unique abilities in melodic improvisation were honed over years of late-night residencies in the legendary music clubs of Bamako. They have earned her a place as one of West Africa’s most exciting vocalists. In 2017 she joined the all-female music collective Les Amazones d’Afrique, who use music as a vehicle to campaign for gender equality in Africa.

Her widely-lauded debut album BAMANAN was produced in collaboration with rock producer Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M., Taylor Swift). It brought her two All Africa Music Award nominations and The New York Times Critic’s Pick. Now Rokia is putting her gritty, soaring, griot-infused vocals to Malian guitar and a West African percussive pulse. It’s the sound of an emerging legend replenishing her roots.

Rokia Kone

It’s a voice that soars – pure, clear and true - above bass and synths, traditional percussion and infectious Mande guitar grooves. A stop you in your tracks voice instantly familiar to anyone in Mali, West Africa: Rokia Koné, aka the Rose of Bamako. One of Mali’s most beloved and dynamic artists, Koné is a force to be reckoned with. Her captivating performances in the city’s local maquis clubs very often last for hours, as Koné runs the gamut of emotion from joy to despair, fury to tenderness, wielding that astounding voice with grace and power. Koné’s musical journey began as a young child in the courtyard of her home in Dioro near Ségou, the cradle of the great Bamana Empire. “I would mostly sing my grandmother’s songs,” she says. “My uncles and aunts on both sides of my family were also singers. I was always surrounded by music.” The young Rokia headed to Bamako, becoming a backing singer for Alia Coulibaly, one of Mali’s biggest stars, then quickly earned top billing as a solo artist in her own right. In 2016 she caught the attention of Valérie Malot, founder of renowned French booking agency 3D Family, who invited her to join feminist supergroup Les Amazones d’Afrique and make her debut on an international stage. In 2022, Rokia released her debut album BAMANAN, a collaboration with Irish-born, California-based rock producer Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M, Snow Patrol, The Killers).

See Rokia Kone tour dates