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Updated 1/17/2018

Debo Band

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Performing Group

Debo Band is an ensemble led by Ethiopian-American saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by charismatic vocalist Bruck Tesfaye. Since their inception in 2006, they have toured Africa twice, having appeared at both the Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababa and Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar, the largest music festival in East Africa. In North America, they’ have shared stages with Gogol Bordello, Arcade Fire, Fishbone, The Family Stone, Tilahun Gessesse (one of the great voices of 1970s Ethiopian pop), and The Ex with Ethiopian sax legend Getatchew Mekuria. They’ have also performed at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, The Kennedy Center, Montreal Jazz Fest, globalFEST 2012, Bonnaroo, and SXSW. Named one of NPR's top 50 albums of 2012, their debut was released to critical acclaim by Sub Pop/Next Ambiance.

"Albums like this, which dice up and recombine musical traditions, so often run the risk of being more interesting than good — fascinating to study, but not much fun to listen to. Everything here, though, feels strangely organic and effortlessly joyful. Some will surely hear it and go scrambling back to research the original Ethiopian music at its foundation. But more will simply let it wash over them and get swept up in the party." - SPIN

"Guitar solos, massed vocals, violin, and brass rush in like a Red Bulled marching band. Dance at your own risk." - Rolling Stone

“A different archival impulse paid off for Debo Band, a Boston group devoted to the Ethiopian funk of the late 1960s and ’70s: fierce, jagged, complex and galvanizing music. With a beefy horn section, biting violins and a lead singer with a convincing Ethiopian quaver, the group brought back a live version of a style that was never recorded as vividly.” – The New York Times

"Debo Band is charged up on a beguiling mix of riotous energy and sinuous swing" - NPR First Listen

"It's not an easy feat to pay tribute and transcend that same tribute simultaneously, but over the course of their debut, this band manages the trick." - Pitchfork

Find Me

Danny Mekonnen
Job Title: Leader
Phone: 903-491-4118
Address:
5 Chilcott Pl
APT 2
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Social Media:

Additional Content:

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Cooperative

Year Founded:

2006

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Cooperative

Year Founded:

2006

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Music - Ethnic / World

Additional Disciplines:

  • Music - Traditional

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Performance / Concert / Reading
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 50

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • School Groups
  • Teens
  • Youth-At-Risk

Geographic Reach:

  • Town / City
  • State
  • Multi-State Region
  • National
  • International

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • 2007 Graduate Society Fellowship, Pre-Dissertation Research Grant
  • 2009-2010 USArtists International, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
  • 2012 MCC Traditional Arts - Finalist
  • 2012 Apprenticeship Program - Institute of Community Research, Hartford, CT

Awards

Awards:

  • 2007 Graduate Society Fellowship, Pre-Dissertation Research Grant
  • 2009-2010 USArtists International, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
  • 2012 MCC Traditional Arts - Finalist
  • 2012 Apprenticeship Program - Institute of Community Research, Hartford, CT

Education

Education:

  • Master of Arts, Harvard University, 2013 (Ethnomusicology)

Special Designations

Special Designations:

  • NEFA Grant Recipient

Artist Info

Teaching Artist

Ages Served:

  • Pre-Kindergarten-age
  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Foreign Languages

Teaching Artist

Ages Served:

  • Pre-Kindergarten-age
  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Foreign Languages

Touring Artist

NEST Eligible Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • In most cases, presenter must provide a professional, high quality, full range PA system that will be set up and tested to be fully working in time for the band’s arrival. The system will be of sufficient power dispersion to fill performance space.

Fee Range:

$2,500 - $10,000

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

9

Maximum Number of Performers:

12