Sima Cunningham

Sima Cunningham is a Chicago-based musician, songwriter, producer, presenter, and a founding member of Finom. Her second solo album, High Roller, will be released in August 2024 on Ruination Records. Heartfelt and adventurous, her solo music is for fans of Harry Nilsson, Fiona Apple, Wilco, Aimee Mann, and Big Thief.

Over the past 15 years she has worked as a recording and touring musician with Jeff Tweedy, Richard Thompson, Iron & Wine, Edith Frost, Chance the Rapper, Twin Peaks, and been featured on multitudes of records. She co-owns a recording studio in Chicago, Fox Hall, where she produces records for her own projects and other artists.

In 2015 Sima formed Finom (fka OHMME) along with Macie Stewart, and it has been her primary project for the past decade. Finom has been celebrated as “the heart of the Chicago music community” by Vice Magazine. They have released three acclaimed albums including Parts (2018), Fantasize Your Ghost (2020), and Not God (2024) with Joyful Noise Recordings. The band has been featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, Pitchfork, Paste, Chicago Tribune, Spin, Interview, and Rolling Stone and was recently commissioned to write and perform a piece with Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet and Orchestra.

An Armenian-American artist and descendent of genocide survivors, Sima has focused much of her work on building connections and healing divides through music. Over the last ten years, she has traveled to Armenia and the Caucasus to perform, participate in workshops, and foster creative cross-cultural opportunities between artists in Armenia and the United States. Her work as an artist-presenter includes founding a small music festival, Postock, that will celebrate its 16th year in 2024; curating and hosting the I Hear Voices series in Chicago at Constellation; and working as a lead organizer for the Pitchfork Music Festival.