Ethiopian stars to perform in Sweden

Mahmoud Ahmed became one of the first modern Ethiopian music makers to perform in the USA on a 1980-1981 tour with the Wallias Band, Gétatchew Kassa and Webeshed Fisseha. Mahmoud's music reached a larger western audience in 1986 when the Belgian label Crammed Discs released the collection Ere Mela Mela, drawn from two Kaifa LPs that Mahmoud had recorded in Addis Ababa with the Ibex Band a decade earlier. In April 2015 he was honored by the Ethiopian Musicians Association as one of the pioneers of music in Ethiopia.

Alemayehu Eshete was the first to record music on vinyl in Ethiopia. He won a Tchaikovsky composition award at the International Music Festival in Dresden, Germany in 1984. Mohammed and Alemayehu will be backed by Badume’s Band from France at the festival.

Besides these two icons, the 11-strong folk group Ethiocolor will occupy the stage on 13 August. Live on stage, the audience will experience the band’s fusion of music and dance from different regions of Ethiopia, using traditional instruments that have been strengthened and arranged in a modern style.

The family-friendly festival will also stage other artists from around the world, as well as dance companies, circus performers, film screenings and various other art projects throughout the city. Meanwhile, one of Europe’s biggest festivals for young people, We Are Sthlm, takes over Stockholm’s Kungsträdgården with a star-studded line-up and a daytime programme packed with activities between 11 and 15 August.

Presented in collaboration with the British Council, the Stockholm Culture Festival works to increase trust and understanding between people and thus creating opportunities for people around the world to meet. For more details visit the festival website