Mei Semones
Friday, September 4, 2026 at
7:30 PM
Berlind Theatre
Mei Semones is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and guitarist crafting jazz-inflected indie pop in both Japanese and English. Drawing on her background in jazz guitar and her Japanese heritage, she blends inventive harmonies, intricate rhythms, and bilingual lyricism into a sound that is both intimate and exploratory.
Her music weaves together jazz, bossa nova, and indie rock—channeling influences from John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery to Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins—into songs that feel at once technically rich and emotionally immediate. On her Bayonet Records debut EP Kabutomushi, Semones explores the complexities of love—infatuation, devotion, vulnerability, and loss—through lush arrangements, expressive guitar work, and quietly powerful vocals.
“Blending everything that I like together and trying to make something new—that’s what feels most natural to me,” she says. “It’s what feels most true to who I am as an artist.”
Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Semones began playing piano at age four before moving to guitar at eleven, later studying jazz performance at Berklee College of Music. Now performing with a dynamic ensemble featuring strings, she continues to shape a distinctive musical voice that is both deeply personal and sonically adventurous.
“Once in a while, an artist comes along so wholly unique, bringing seemingly disparate elements together in a way that feels almost effortless. Mei Semones is one of those artists.”
“Mei Semones is the best of what’s next — you’d be foolish not to pay close attention.”
From the Desk of Paula Abreu
I had the chance to see Mei Semones perform this summer at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and I was immediately struck by how hard it is to define her music. Her style is wonderfully genre-fluid, moving between indie pop with jazz and bossa nova influences woven throughout, while she sings in both English and Japanese. There is a natural connection between Mei's Japanese heritage and her embrace of bossa nova, a genre with a deep and devoted following in Japan, but what makes her music so exciting is the way she brings those influences together while maintaining her own indie pop identity. She's bringing bossa nova and jazz to younger generations in a way that feels fresh and completely her own.
I love artists who don't fit neatly into one category, and Mei, who is only 24, is doing something really special. She is an incredible guitarist and a captivating performer, and her music feels intimate, adventurous, and deeply personal. Before she graces McCarter's Berlind stage, she'll be performing at the Newport Jazz Festival and at SummerStage, sharing the bill with artists including Samara Joy and Christian McBride. One of the things I love about McCarter is the opportunity to discover artists like Mei and introduce them to our audiences. It's part of what McCarter has always done so well—bringing extraordinary artists to Princeton and giving audiences the chance to experience something new. Audiences are in for a real treat.
Paula Abreu
Director of Presented Programming, William Lockwood, Jr. Chair
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