Solvei

Los Angeles Music Award Nominee Recipient

Producers Choice Award Nomination for Best World-Jazz Album 

“An amazing live performer!” – Los Angeles Times

“A beautiful voice…” – Bruce Lundvall, CEO Blue Note Records

“Remember her name!” – Tolucan Times

“This Jazzy and sultry singer keeps you in your seat!” - L.A. WEEKLY

“She will WOW you!” – Norway Rock Magazine

“A star in the making…” – E.T.

BIO

Solvei McKenna (SOLVEI) is a critically acclaimed jazz and world music artist whose impressive career spans across continents and disciplines. With 11 internationally released albums, numerous singles (including recent releases "Midnight Passion" and "Time To Wake Up"), and ongoing collaborations, her musical tapestry is rich and diverse. She has shared creative spaces with multi-Grammy winner Kurt Elling, The William Eaton Ensemble, Sir Elton John, and seven-time Grammy nominee Will Clipman, solidifying her reputation among music's elite. Her accolades include a Los Angeles Music Award and a World Music Award, alongside a powerful artist endorsement from Amnesty International for her impactful song "Leonard Peltier," a testament to her deep involvement with American Indian culture and rights.

Solvei's journey into music was shaped by a profound early life in the performing arts. Beginning at age 11 with the Norwegian Opera Ballet, she completed over 1200 consecutive large stage productions as a dancer and comedienne. Her acting career included two regional tours with the Norwegian National Theatre Touring Company and a regular role in the legendary Scandinavian variety show, Dizzie Tunes, as well as a feature alongside Wes Studi in "Wolf in Camp." 

As she puts it, "I grew up on stage, and in the wings... Theater life was the only life for me. The only place I truly felt at home." A serious injury pivoted her focus, pushing her full force into music composition, singing, and performing with her Los Angeles and Arizona-based bands, including ZumaSol, quickly establishing herself as a passionate and unique artist by 2005.

Her connection to American Indian culture is deeply personal, inspiring much of her tribal-infused music and leading to her direct collaboration with Leonard Peltier's family in 2007. Beyond her advocacy for American Indian rights, Solvei is a dedicated animal rights activist and spokesperson for a plant-based lifestyle, becoming vegan in 2014. Her commitment to well-being extends to her professional life, as featured in an eight-part Scandinavian TV documentary on her yoga/healing practice, where she has taught many Hollywood celebrities. Additionally, she is a content writer for sports and fitness publications and created a CEU course on teaching meditation for NCCPT/ISSA.

Under her own label, Royal Dancer Music, Solvei has self-produced and recorded 10 albums, plus the collaborative album "Worlds Within" with seven-time Grammy nominee Will Clipman, with another collaboration currently underway. Her album "MOSAIQUE" was notably considered for a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannsprisen). Performing regularly to crowds around the world, Solvei's music is a direct reflection of her multicultural upbringing, with a main objective to use music as a healing force, bringing positivity and passion through every performance.

SOLVEI's music is featured alongside "Pink Martini" in the award winning documentary "Hands of Eros", which recently won at the Milan Film Festival and won best short documentary film at Rutger Hauer's "I've seen films" Festival.  "Hands of Eros" is beautifully created by Linda Carfagno.