A Grammy Award-winning and globally celebrated musician is set to headline next year’s Black History Month gala in Yellowknife.
Richard Bona is a bass player, composer and multi-instrumentalist from Cameroon who is now based in New York. His sound blends soul, pop, jazz, Latin and African music.
Bon won a 2003 Grammy Award as a member of the Pat Metheny Group, whose album Speaking of Now won best contemporary jazz album. He was also nominated for best pop instrumental performance that year and for best contemporary world music album at the 2007 Grammys.
Bona has toured, composed, recorded and created music with artists such as Harry Belafonte, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder and Bobby McFerrin.
On March 6, 2027, he will take the stage at Black advocacy coalition BACupNorth’s annual gala at the Chateau Nova in Yellowknife.
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Ambe Chenemu, president of BACupNorth, said it’s “massive” that Bona is coming to Yellowknife. While next year’s gala is “still a work in progress” as organizers look to finalize the list of artists, Chenemu said the organization wanted to announce Bona’s attendance early to pique people’s interest.
“It’s a dream for us to get an artist of Richard’s calibre,” he said.
Juno-winning singer-songwriter Jully Black, who has Jamaican heritage and has been dubbed “Canada’s queen of R&B and soul” by fans, came to Yellowknife earlier this year to perform at the 2026 Black History Month gala.
The event also featured performances by Godson, Agama B, Blak Majik, and DJ Chefboy.
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Chenemu said Bona will bring something a little different to next year’s event. He hopes the visit can be a great opportunity to boost Yellowknife’s music scene and for local artists to work with Bona.
“We spread across the Black community from different backgrounds so we … try to find artists from different backgrounds,” he said.
As February is both Black History Month and Indigenous Languages Month in the NWT, Chenemu said organizers try to make sure Indigenous artists are also in the gala’s lineup.
The annual Black History Month gala celebrates Black history and culture, bringing community members of all backgrounds together to enjoy an evening of music, dancing and food.
“If you’ve been at a gala, you know that we always bring the energy,” Chenemu said.
“It’s a night where people walk away with surreal experiences and sometimes you get to see artists up close and have that personal connection that may live with you or stay with you for a lifetime.”
Chenemu said tickets for the 2027 event will likely go on sale in December or January, after the full roster of acts is confirmed.
