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RISING R&B STAR UMI SETS HEADLINING BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB DATES
April 8, 2026—Rising LA singer and songwriter UMI is set to make her Blue Note debut in support of her latest album people stories, out now via Epic Records. She will perform across multiple Blue Note venues, playing the Blue Note LA on June 18 (see HERE for tickets), the Blue Note NYC as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival New York June 24-25 (tickets HERE), and the Blue Note Hawaii in Honolulu on July 3-4 (tickets HERE). Tickets for all three venues will go on sale at 3 P.M. Eastern Time/noon Pacific Time/9 A.M. Hawaiian Time.
PERFORMING IN LA JUNE 18, NYC JUNE 24-25,
HONOLULU JULY 3-4
UMI’s genre-defying blend of R&B, neo-soul and alternative pop has received extensive critical acclaim from Pitchfork, Billboard, the Huffington Post, FLOOD and more, with Clash Magazine noting that “[people stories] explores the depth of the human experience and the surprising inner connectedness of our life stories: tender, raw, and rooted in emotional truth.”
With her NYC performances included in the Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, UMI joins a number of contemporary and progressive voices within the R&B world alongside some of the greatest, most forward thinking jazz artists ranging from innovative instrumentalists such as MonoNeon, Isaiah Collier, Brian Blade, Chief Adjuah, Marcus Gilmore and Brandee Younger, to powerful vocalists including Ledisi, Durand Bernarr, Big Freedia, Kokoroko, Destin Conrad and BLK ODYSSY.
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York runs concurrently with the Blue Note Jazz Festival Hollywood Bowl, presented in collaboration with the LA Phil June 13-14. With the Blue Note’s newest venue in Los Angeles, the Blue Note Entertainment Group offers a diversity of club and festival experiences on both coasts as well as across a number of worldwide locations.
ABOUT BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB
The Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City has become one of the premier venues in the world. While jazz is at its core, Blue Note continues to broaden its offerings with a mission to spotlight contemporary artists across all musical styles, backgrounds and cultures. The club and its sister institutions worldwide continue to draw massive household names with frequent surprise appearances from superstars like Stevie Wonder, Ed Sheeran, Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock and more.
Blue Note’s worldwide locations include its newest venue in Los Angeles, CA; Milan, Italy; Honolulu, HI; Beijing and Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; Napa, CA; and Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil. Blue Note is planning on opening in London in 2026.
ABOUT BLUE NOTE JAZZ FESTIVALS
The storied Blue Note Jazz Festival started in New York in 2011, each summer seeing a month-long celebration of jazz throughout June. The Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa kicked off in 2022 with curation by Robert Glasper, creating a multi-day jazz meets hip-hop and R&B festival taking place outdoors across multiple stages. Past headliners include John Legend, NAS, Mary J Blige, Chance the Rapper, Maxwell, Jill Scott and others. In 2024 and 2025, the Napa festival was presented as a landmark spin-off with Black Radio Experience, in association with Glasper at the Meritage Hotel.
ABOUT UMI
As a singer, songwriter and sonic healer whose genre-defying sound blends R&B, neo-soul and folk, UMI has proven to be a rising musical force. Born and raised in Seattle to a multicultural, musically inclined family, UMI found her voice early—first sharing acoustic songs and covers on SoundCloud during high school. Her deeply introspective lyrics and calming presence quickly built a loyal following, leading her to leave USC to continue honing her craft and focus on her skyrocketing career.
Her new album, people stories, marks a new chapter. Inspired by her loved ones, fans, strangers and her own experiences, the project explores ego, healing, identity and connection—all filtered through her signature tranquil songwriting. The album is her most personal and expansive to date, featuring spoken word outros from her therapist and guide—sonic imperfections are intentionally left in as a tribute to life’s beautiful messiness. people stories is deeply universal, seamlessly weaving through various styles like R&B, folk and pop, with each track offering its own texture. For UMI, people stories is both a reclamation of her past and a tribute to collective growth.
For more information, please contact Joe Cohen, Kate Rakvic or Samantha Tillman at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.