| Intro | British-nigerian jazz-folk-soul singer-songwriter and guitarist |
| Is |
Singer Guitarist Songwriter |
| From | United Kingdom |
| Type | Music |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | Glasgow, Glasgow City Council, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Bumi Thomas is a British-Nigerian jazz-folk-soul singer-songwriter and guitarist. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but grew up in Nigeria. Now London-based, and frequently found performing in smaller venues around the city, in November 2014 she released her debut EP, Feather Pearl.
Career
Thomas is known for songs such as “Free As a Bird”, which she has performed live on BBC Radio, “My Baby (Hole in the Sky)”, “Walk with Me” and “Don’t Lie to Me”. Her songs tend to be centred around themes of “journey and expression”. She has performed with the likes of Kenny Thomas, Muntu Valdo, Nneka, Shingai Shoniwa of the Noisettes, Keziah Jones and Tony Allen, and is often found performing in cafes, bars and jazz clubs in London, though as appeared on the stage in the Royal Opera House. Her debut EP, Feather Pearl, was released in November 2011.
In October 2016 she is due to appear at the London Felabration 2016 with the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra and artists such as Breis, Temi Dollface, Afrikan Boy, Tiggs da Author, and others.
Personal life
Thomas resides in London. She has said of her heritage: “My experience in Nigeria as a woman of Yoruba and Igbo heritage living in Hausaland has shaped me. Though I still retain aspects of my British experiences of early childhood; I had a thick Glaswegian accent when we moved to Kano and still retain the Scottish attitude about being less uptight about life.”