Chirkutt’s Sumi becomes first-ever Bangladeshi to participate in Womex 21

Musician and rock band Chirkutt's vocalist Sharmin Sultana Sumi is set to represent Bangladesh at World Wide Music Expo (Womex) 21 in Portugal.

Sumi was invited as an official delegate of the summit. The musician made the announcement about Womex through a Facebook post.

She is the only Bangladeshi singer on the summit's list and will also be the first-ever Bangladeshi to represent the country at the world's largest music summit.

"It is an honour for me to be the first Bangladeshi musician to represent our country", Sumi told The Business Standard while sharing her excitement about attending the summit.

"As a delegate, I will represent Bangladesh and our band Chirkutt by sharing ideas and discussing music and promoting the role of culture worldwide," she said.

Formed in 1994, Womex is the largest networking platform for musicians. Every October, over 2,500 professionals along with 260 performers from around the world gather at the diverse meeting to develop cross-cultural understanding and generate fresh ideas.

Earlier in 2016, Chirkutt took part in Southwest Festival at Austin, Texas. The director of that programme Todd Puckhaber becomes the jury member of Womex 21. Todd invited Sumi to take part in the festival.

Before attending the festival, the singer will go to Geneva, Switzerland to visit a friend and discuss a special international project.

Sumi also shared about her upcoming project with Chirkutt.

"We have already finished working on around six songs. I am planning to release a new song before leaving for the summit".

Sumi is expected to go to Lisbon on 25 October and land in Porto, Portugal on 26 October.

Womex 21 will run from 27 October till 31 October in Porto, Portugal.