Biography
Ethiopian-born singer and songwriter Meklit Hadero blends jazz, folk, and soul while performing in both English and Amharic. She entered the world in Addis Ababa and, alongside her physician parents, left Ethiopia for the United States to avoid the prolonged conflict that erupted after the 1974 revolution. Her childhood unfolded across Iowa and Brooklyn, where choir singing formed an early foundation and an introduction to Billie Holiday’s recordings arrived during her teenage years. Though she completed a political science degree at Yale, music remained central, leading her to San Francisco’s thriving arts community, where she pursued vocal and guitar instruction. At the Red Poppy Art House she began shaping her distinctive voice through regular performances and later joined guitarist Todd Brown in Nefasha Ayer, a group drawing from jazz, roots, and African traditions. Her first solo record, On a Day Like This..., appeared in 2010, followed in 2012 by the full-band project Meklit & Quinn, a collaboration with singer-songwriter Quinn Deveaux. Returning to the studio in 2013 alongside her quartet and numerous guest musicians, she completed We Are Alive, issued by Six Degrees the following spring.
Albums