Meklit

Born in Ethiopia and raised in an academic family in Iowa, New York and Florida, Meklit found herself as an artist in San Francisco. A luminous songstress and a cultural visionary, she’s a TED Global Fellow who spearheaded the transformational Nile Project with Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis, bringing together musicians from the 11 nations traversed by the world’s longest river. With a supple voice that can waft ethereally or take on red-clay grit, she’s a songwriter, guitarist and bandleader who has crafted a singular sound drawing on Amharic folk melodies, soul, hip-hop, and whatever else comes her way. More than an artist, Meklit is an agent of transformation who seduces with sound.