When people in the UK discover my music through Google Search or streaming platforms, (as a few did yesterday) I feel an immediate warmth — because the UK is not just a distant place for me. It is a country that touched my heart long before Sephonono began its journey across borders.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I travelled through his home towns of York and Keighley, and those days left a deep imprint on my memories and my music.
York, with its ancient stone streets, cathedral bells, and the quiet dignity of its history, felt almost like stepping into a living story. I still remember standing along the city walls, wrapped in a light Yorkshire breeze, listening to the hum of the town below. Something about that atmosphere — calm but full of soul — reminded me of why I sing: to carry stories forward, gently but powerfully.
Keighley, more intimate and personal, gave me another kind of connection — a feeling of home. Walking through the places where my husband grew up, hearing family stories, and seeing the landscapes that shaped him gave me a deeper understanding of the man who has walked beside me through every note, every performance, every risk. Those quiet moments in West Yorkshire shaped me, too.
And then there was London — vibrant, buzzing, alive with possibility. I remember the excitement of standing outside the Adelphi Theatre, ready to watch Tina – The Tina Turner Musical. Tina Turner has always been one of my greatest inspirations, a woman who carried fire in her voice and grace in her spirit.
When the first notes rang out inside that beautiful theatre, I felt a kind of electricity rise inside me — a reminder that music is not just something we make, but something that moves through us, generation to generation, artist to artist, country to country.
That night at the Adelphi stayed with me.
And as I watch Sephonono begin to travel across borders, I am reminded of that same feeling — that music can take you places long before your body ever arrives.
Today, when I see visitors from the UK on my blog, or when I notice that people in York, London, or even small English towns are searching for my name, listening to my songs, or discovering my first recording Mmasonoko, I feel a deep connection.
Not just as an artist — but as a woman who walked your streets, breathed your air, and felt your world open warmly around her.
To everyone in the UK who has listened, searched, clicked, or shared — thank you.
You are part of this journey now.
And one day soon, I hope to return not as a tourist, but as a performer, bringing Botswana’s jazz soul back to the places that inspired me in ways I never expected.
With love,
Nnunu
Nnunu Ramogotsi: Africa's Jewel 