Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American vocalist, songwriter, composer and former refugee, known for her electric stage presence, innovative sound and vibrant cultural activism.
Meklit’s performances have taken her to renowned stages across four continents. Her last album topped world music charts across the US and Europe, and was named amongst the best of the year by Bandcamp and The Sunday Times UK. Most meaningfully to her, Meklit is a star in her home country of Ethiopia, after the music video for her song Kemekem and her TED Talk went viral there, the latter garnering over 1.3 million views.
Meklit has collaborated with renowned artists such as Kronos Quartet, Andrew Bird, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the late creator of funk music, Pee Wee Ellis. She is currently signed to Smithsonian Folkways, with two records set for release in 2024.
Meklit has always straddled her creative practice with her passion for cultural activism. She is the former Head of Creativity and Impact at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, where she helped design and implement a slate of radical programs supporting social justice focused artists during the height of the pandemic. She is a sought after thought leader and speaker and has given talks on multiple TED Stages, at the UN, and at the National Geographic Storytellers Summit, as well as at companies, organizations and Universities around the globe.
Meklit is a National Geographic Explorer, a TED Senior Fellow, and a former Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University and NYU. She is the co-founder of the Nile Project, a featured voice in UN Women’s theme song and the winner of the 2021 globalFEST Artist Award. Her work has been featured by the New York Times, BBC, CNN, NPR, Washington Post, Vibe Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe and many more.
Meklit is co-founder, co-producer and host of Movement, a new podcast, radio series and live show sharing the stories and songs of immigrant musicians. The show airs monthly on PRX’s The World to an audience of 2.5 million listeners.
PC: Ibra Acke.