With a relaxing vibe in the air, people bobbed, tapped and swayed to Somi’s powerful performance at the River to River Festival last Thursday in downtown Manhattan’s Battery Park.

Somi took to the floor wearing a sheer, warm-colored dress. She sang songs from her latest album, “The Lagos Music Salon,” a project inspired by her 18-month trip to Lagos, Nigeria.

During the performance, she told the audience that she talks a lot about Nigeria in her latest album. Nigeria, from its culture to its social issues, was a constant theme throughout the performance. At one point, Somi talked about Occupy Nigeria, a 2012 sociopolitical protest movement in response to the removal of fuel subsidies from the oil-rich nation.

“People were devastated by change,” she said. “One woman was trying to make her way for her family. This song is for all the courageous souls who took to the streets called ‘Two Dollar Day.’”

Somi sang from the base of her stomach to belt out beautiful sounds as she stood barefoot in front of the audience. People of all ages stopped to listen. She has such a big voice that she was singing about a foot away from the microphone during parts of her set and could still be heard.

Fatmata Conteh, a New York Law School student, watched Somi perform for the very first time. She has “a deep and powerful voice but [it’s] more soothing than anything else,” she said.

The rousing performance didn’t totally overshadow drummer Otis Brown III, who mesmerized the audience with his solos. The impressive performance was a sampling of what Somi calls “Neo-African Soul.”

“I’m talking about helping people re-imagine what Africa might be in this day and age, in this modern world,” she said. “A lot of times, people want to romanticize who we are traditionally, which is a wonderful and beautiful thing that I’m very proud of, but we’re obviously inspired to tell our stories in new and nuanced ways.”

The performance was also a send-off. Somi will be performing overseas soon and said that she was excited for the Battery Park show because she was “looking forward to just seeing the people.” The people were pleased.

“It was amazing to finally see [her] perform live,” Emma Andrews said. “Wow, amazing. [Her] voice is a gift from God.”