The Voice of Brazil: Bia Ferreira

Bia Ferreira is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and artist-activist for LGBTQIA+ communities around the world, and is known for her powerful voice in contemporary Brazilian music. Her music blends Afro-diasporic rhythms, including soul, blues, Afrobeat, reggae, Brazilian padogão and conscious rap. Her work is not limited to music; she engages in activism for human rights and gender equality, solidifying her role as a leading figure in black, queer, and anti-racist feminism.

Her 2017 song “Cota Não É Esmola” which highlighted the quota system for the access of the black population to go to university received millions of views and listening to it became a mandatory step for the entrance exam to the University of Brasilia.

Experience the powerful voice and vision of Bia Ferreira, an artist who defines her music as MMP (música de mulher preta), or “black woman music.” A talented singer, songwriter, and tireless activist, Bia weaves together R&B, soul, Afrobeat, reggae, and Bahian pagodão, all underpinned by a sharp, conscious rap flow. Rising to international prominence with her anthem "Cota Não É Esmola"—a song that became essential reading for university entrance exams in Brazil—she continues to use her platform to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and challenge systemic injustice. Join us for an unforgettable performance where raw, soulful storytelling meets a vibrant, rhythmic soundscape that is as politically poignant as it is musically mesmerizing.

Bia Ferreira comes from a rural town in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, born into a family of evangelical missionaries. Her mother is a pianist and choir leader, and her father a pastor. She began studying piano at the age of three and continued her studies at the Brazilian Music Conservatory where she learned to play dozens of instrumentsn and she would sing in the family church. At the age of 12, she says, she wrote her first song – a plea to god to “cure” her thoughts that she was a lesbian. That didn't happen. By the age of 15, she had gotten involved in the Black women's movement in Brazil. And then at university, her mind was expanded further. And at the same time, she discovered people would give her money for playing guitar.

In her early 20's, she hitchhiked around the country, playing and selling her self-produced CD wherever she could. Ferriera's debut album, Igreja Lesbiteriana, O chamado (The Lesbian Church, The Call) in 2019 was an unflinching attack on racism, anti-feminism and homophobia.

VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2HA0cvBY-Q

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