MALI OBOMSAWIN is an award-winning bassist, songwriter, and composer from Abenaki First Nation at Odanak. With an expansive background in American roots, rock, and jazz, Obomsawin carries several music traditions. Mali’s debut album Sweet Tooth has received international acclaim since its release (Out of Your Head Records 2022), including rave reviews and “best of 2022” placement in The Guardian, JazzTimes, and NPR. A Smithsonian Folkways Recordings artist, they spent the years 2014-2021 touring internationally with beloved folk-rock band Lula Wiles. An in-demand bassist in the folk and jazz circuits, Mali appears often as an accompanist with contemporaries like Jake Blount and Lizzie No and has performed at premier festivals like Newport and Philly Folk Fest. She can also be found in galleries and creative music spaces with the likes of Peter Apfelbaum, Taylor Ho Bynum, and Bill Cole's Untempered Ensemble. In addition to their artistic work, Obomsawin is a community organizer dedicated to land justice and tribal sovereignty.

Mali received the 2022 International Folk Music Association's “Rising Tide Award," which honors young artists who embody the values and ideals of the folk community through their creative work, community role, and public voice. They also received the New England Foundation of the Arts "New Work New England" award in 2022. Mali is a member of The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band and Indigenous Performance Productions' Welcome To Indian Country. As a composer-arranger, they scored the upcoming film "We Are The Warriors,” collaborated with Red Sky Performance and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Palaver Strings. Beyond the stage, Mali is a community organizer and advocate for Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and landback. She works as a writer and educator with the Wabanaki-led Sunlight Media Collective to document and promote stories at the intersection of environmental justice and Tribal sovereignty. Her journalism has been published recently in Smithsonian, National Performance Network, and the Boston Globe. In 2020, Mali co-founded Bomazeen Land Trust, the first-ever Wabanaki land trust, where she currently serves as executive director.

Important information regarding Minor's attending the Waterfront Stage:
This show is 19+ / Minors will permitted if accompanied and supervised by a parent or legal guardian and the appropriate documentation provided. For more information click here.