ABOUT
BIOGRAPHY
AWARD WINNING SINGER SONGWRITER / PRODUCER / LECTURER/ SPEAKER / WORKSHOP LEADER
MUSIC ARTIST AND ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR 2015 – AWE AWARDS Geneva Switzerland
Award winning singer songwriter Lorraine Lionheart, is one of the UK’s leading African music artists with a great and deep personal ambition to conquer the Global world music scene, staying true to her music and its roots, and putting her country Botswana on the international music map. Oozing with originality and authenticity, she is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing world music artists from Southern Africa and is already affectionately dubbed Botswana’s music icon by the media and her adoring fans. Lorraine is an upcoming African talent to watch. She is a versatile artist who has successfully refused to choose between traditional African music and contemporary Afropop. She continues to explore African music without any restriction to a particular genre.
The UK based African music artist was born and raised in the Kalahari Desert, in Botswana, the country they call the jewel of Africa and one of the most romantic African countries. She has a pure experience of growing up in an area so untouched, beautifully remote and that carries a unique sense of deep rooted spirituality. The singer says her music is deeply influenced by the music of the Basarwa tribe of the Kalahari Desert otherwise widely known as the Bushmen. In her words “the Basarwa are the world’s most beautiful people”. Even though she embraces her roots and sings in her native languages , 14 other African languages ,as well as in English, her music knows no geographical barriers and appeals to even an audience unfamiliar with African music. She is an adventurous artist who does not feel restricted to any style of music but continues to maintain her authenticity throughout her artistic experience and music journey.
PERFORMANCE
Lionheart’s unique uplifting blend of African rhythms and soul will wow your guests or compliment your event with just the right amount of subtle background music, to create an impressive ideal atmosphere. She is one of the UK's leading African/world music singers, specialising in providing entertainment for high profile events, corporate and diplomatic events, festivals and other music and cultural events. Services are tailor made to suit the client’s needs and delivered to exceptional standards. With a repertoire of world music of ethnic African origin and unique renditions of popular favourites, you can add that unique finishing touch to a special event whilst you and your guests dine, enjoy drinks and mark a bespoke occasion with music from a professional singer song writer who is rapidly becoming a name to remember in the world music international scene. Followed by thousands of world music lovers around the globe, her music is also often featured in several radio stations including BBC Radio. She is no stranger to international stage, having headlined festivals and performed in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Hong Kong, South Africa, Switzerland, Nigeria, Botswana and United Kingdom. She offers both solo performances and band performances. Lorraine performs mainly her own original material but also does unique versions of popular songs from artists who inspire her. She usually performs with a 6 piece band or more, but can also do stripped back acoustic performances with just one other guitarist/pianist or percussionist. She enjoys collaborations with different artists and is a great team player who is always praised for her professional standards.
Lionheart’s client list includes : ExportaGroup, South African Chamber of Commerce UK, Botswana High Commission, Global Expo, Botswana Investment and Trade centre and The Commonwealth Resounds. She has performed extensively at music festivals around Europe and also at high profile events such as 2nd Annual African Capital Market Conference & EMEA Finance African Banking Awards, London , UK. Lorraine performed exclusively for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex , at a prestigious event to officiate their appointment at the new Commonwealth Youth Ambassadors. She represented her country Botswana at four prestigious multi national music events at the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, UK (COHGM -2018). She also achieved one of her life long goal of performing at Fela Kuti's The Shrine in Lagos Nigeria , where she co-headlined at the Felabration 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Discography
Lorraine Lionheart currently has 4 independently released studio albums and several singles under her name
Lecturer, Speaker & Workshop leader
Lorraine Lionheart is the founder of Amacah; an organisation that specialises in delivering music of Africa lectures and masterclasses to universities, colleges, music schools, events and more. See www.amacah.com for more details.
Lorraine is also available to speak on a variety of subjects related to her work.
She is an outspoken artist who doesn't shy away from using her platform to speak on social issues. She was a panellist at Moshito Music Conference in Johannesburg South Africa, where she spoke about indigenous sound and its global impact in the music industry. Lorraine is also available to speak at schools and youth groups, inspiring and advising aspiring young musicians about how to build a career as an independent unsigned artist as herself.
Her father who is a school teacher turned retired farmer dedicated his life to travelling to several remote villages in his country as a teacher and often living in challenging conditions. Lorraine travelled a lot with her father and grew up in several places exposed to different cultures, languages and understanding the differences in people from all walks of life. But her fate was tied up with the city: she moved to the capital city of Botswana as soon as she finished school and was often seen performing in musicals, and busking as a member of a traditional dance youth group. She also studied for several years in Harare the capital city of Zimbabwe before moving to Birmingham England. Even though she always had the natural ability to write and compose music, it was moving to a small village in the Shropshire, West Midlands, UK, where her life as music artist took wing. She believes after spending so many years moving from one city to the other, even though she didn’t realize at the time, going back to somewhere that feels like the wilderness is what her soul desperately needed. Grounded by nature which she believes inspires, frees and completes her, there is also an undeniable party girl in her who belongs in the city. The contrast can be found in some of her songs, and music balances it perfectly. Music to this humble African singer songwriter and music artist is not a casual undertaking.
Early
Life
Lorraine has a massive vision for her music and takes it very seriously. She is hands on artist and is determined to win you over with her talent, her authenticity , sincerity and sheer African beauty.
Lorraine is currently based in the UK, where she studied Bachelor of Science in Music Technology and Talent management at Staffordshire University and Master of Arts in Music Production. She is available for corporate events, festivals and other music/arts/culture events, African music workshops, African themed parties, internationally, around Europe and around the UK covering areas such as London, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, West midlands, Shropshire, Wales, Cardiff, Powys, Denbighshire, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Merseyside, London, Derbyshire, Cornwall, Staffordshire, Suffolk, United Kingdom