EKENE MUSIC
Watch: live performances
Biography
Ekene Music is the performing name of Ekene Richard Nworah, a Nigerian-born guitarist, composer, author and storyteller based on California's Monterey Bay. Raised in the Igbo heartland of southeastern Nigeria, he co-founded a record label before emigrating to the U.S. in 2017 to earn his M.A. at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
His music braids the African guitar lineage of Ali Farka Touré, King Sunny Adé and Fela Kuti with gospel, funk, folk, hip-hop and spoken word. He has released four albums and a string of singles, performed ahead of the Monterey Symphony on the Sunset Center stage, headlined the Ekene & Friends Experience at the Monterey Museum of Art (October 2026, a 2 Lands production), and teaches music with a Kodály-informed, movement-first approach. He is the author of Nnamdi Olebara & His Poetry, preserving the 1974 ARC Studios recordings of Igbo hymn-writer Harcourt Whyte and poet Nnamdi Olebara.
Press
For festivals
| Full band | Ekene with a 6 to 7 piece band: drums, bass, keys, guitars, backing vocals. 45, 60 or 75 minute sets. |
| Trio | Guitar and voice with bass and percussion, for smaller stages and daytime slots. 30 to 60 minutes. |
| Solo unplugged | Guitar, voice and spoken word. 30 to 90 minutes. |
| Extras | Lecture-performance on Igbo music history (Harcourt Whyte & ARC Studios); workshops and school residencies. |
| Availability | Spring to fall 2027. Based in Monterey; plays the California coast from Los Angeles to Humboldt. |
| Fee & rider | Performance fee, stage plot and input list on request. |
About 2 Lands
2 Lands is a Monterey-based production company and artist accelerator. We produce live experiences and build the careers of the artists we work with: recording, live production, video, booking and audience growth.
In October 2026 we produced the Ekene & Friends Experience at the Monterey Museum of Art, bringing global and Monterey artists together on one stage. Ekene Music is our flagship artist.
Quick Facts
- Base: Monterey Bay / SF Bay Area, CA
- Genre: African folk · highlife · Afro-reggae · gospel · spoken word
- Albums: Nature Does Not Rush (2021) · Unplugged Sessions (2021) · Live at Sunset Center (2022) · Live in Sunset 2 (2026)
- Forthcoming: Walker's Appeal (studio LP, after David Walker's 1829 pamphlet)
- Education: M.A., Middlebury Institute
- Management & booking: 2 Lands
Selected Stages
- Ekene & Friends Experience, Monterey Museum of Art — La Mirada (Oct 3, 2026), headliner
- Sunset Center, Carmel — Monterey Symphony × NPR pre-party (2026)
- Live in Sunset 2, Sunset Cultural Center, Carmel (2026)
- Live at Sunset Center album (2022)
- The Complex, San Francisco (2022)
- Middlebury Institute Poetry Week (2021)
Photos
