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Merchant City Festival: Ladies of Soul

  • Drygate 85 Drygate Glasgow, Scotland, G4 United Kingdom (map)

As part of the Merchant City Festival 2017 programme, Drygate presents: Ladies of Soul.

Join us for a night dedicated to soul music with an all-female line up: Glasgow-based songstress Unoma Okudo Music, female vocal led (Rachel Lightbody) Flembot and London-based Sharlene-Monique.

Tickets: £10. Available at http://drygate.com/events/ladies-of-soul/

Unoma Okudo Music

“A Glasgow based singer with a sensational voice. Sounds like a classic” – Janice Forsyth

“Sensational” STV Glasgow

The Glasgow-based songstress will be bringing down the house with her full band and a soulful set including songs from her debut EP Odyssey

Soulful singer-songwriter Unoma Okudo is distinguished by her unique voice, and captivating melodies and lyrics. Born in Nigeria, where she was introduced to music by her parents, her career really began after she moved to Glasgow, Scotland to further her education. Here, she began to write songs and to discover her own voice as an artist. She also provided backing vocals to other artists and continued singing at church, as she had done from childhood. 

Since then, Unoma has performed as the opening act for established and well-known artists including Grammy award winner Macy Gray and soul legend Alexander O’Neal. In 2014, she provided backing vocals to music icons Dougie Maclean, Kylie Minogue, among others, for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 

In January 2016, Unoma released her first single “Satisfied”, a jazz and soul-infused love song. The song was picked up by BBC Radio Scotland and was made the “Single of the Week” on the popular Janice Forsyth Show. Her hotly anticipated first EP, Odyssey, is now out on digital release.

Flembot

Formed by some of the most versatile musicians in Scotland (featuring members of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Roddy Hart & the Lonesome Fire & Breabach) Flembot are a vocal-led (Rachel Lightbody) Jazz/Hip-Hop/R&B cross-over inspired by the likes of Robert Glasper, LAU, Hiatus Kaiyote, Laura Mvula, J Dilla. The band use these contemporary influences as a springboard for new arrangements and instrumental explorations. Expect a female artistry inspired set. 


Sharlene-Monique

Sharlene-Monique is a talented singer-songwriter, She has been singing since the age of 4 and studied media and performing arts to degree level. She is a member of the Kingdom Choir, a collective of outstanding and extraordinary singers from various Christian traditions in the South East of England. As a founding member of the award-winning group 'Divine Unity' Sharlene-Monique. Divine Unity headlined in Poland and performed in several prestigious UK venues, namely, the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall, The Drum, and Symphony Hall. Sharlene is set to release her debut EP with her first single due for release June 2017.

Sharlene-Monique is also founder of 'Be Uniquely You' - a fashion and empowerment blog. She has led self-empowerment workshops in the UK and Europe and is passionate about spreading her message of self-love and identity. Dancing for 15 years Sharlene-Monique has performed and taught in the UK, Europe and USA. She uses dance as a tool to instil confidence into her students and loves to tell stories through her dance performances. Her choreography is a fusion of African, contemporary, street and traditional praise dance.

Earlier Event: July 9
TRNSMT Festival 2017
Later Event: January 21
Ladies of Soul @ Celtic Connections