SANDRA NKAKÉ – Scars | Simone Veil Bridge | Bordeaux Metropole | Qwest TV (2025)

There are certain musicians whose creativity cannot be fully captured in a studio. Sandra Nkaké is one of them. I was introduced to the French-Cameroonian singer and songwriter nearly a decade ago, on the first night of the 8th annual Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince. Within minutes, her boundless energy, passion, and command of the stage made me a lifelong fan.

Ten years later, Nkaké remains an indomitable force that pulls you in. She appears alongside her longtime collaborators — flutist and producer Jî Drû, Mathilda Haynes on electric bass, guitarist Jérôme Perez, and Mathieu Penot on drums. Summoning their vast influences and eschewing emulation, Nkaké renders a message of hope and resilience in a time of utter confusion and turmoil.

A Qwest TV original, the performance was filmed on July 2, 2024, to commemorate the commissioning of the Simone Veil Bridge, in collaboration with Bordeaux Métropole. The bridge was designed by the architecture firm OMA under the direction of the lead partners, Rem Koolhaas and Chris van Duijn.

Named for the French magistrate who was a Holocaust survivor and staunch advocate for women’s rights, Simone Veil, the bridge is an apropos choice as Nkaké performs selections from her 2023 release Scars. While her fourth album is deeply personal, it is also equally a feminist manifesto, as the experience of navigating life as a Black woman — filled with inherited traumas, unspoken struggles, and invisible wounds — is a universal one.