The Anglo-Ethiopian Society

Music - Azmari Bet

Selam Le Ethiopia

Saturday 31st August 2019

18:30 - late at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA.

Tickets £12.50 (earlybird), £14.00 (advance) + £1.50 booking fee per online order or £17 on the door.

An evening of poetry, drama and live traditional Ethiopian music.

Selam Le Ethiopia invites you to join her for a night of amazing music, poetry and theatre, as she recreate the experience of an Azmari Bet, a traditional club that you can find hidden away in the back streets of Addis Ababa, where musicians entertain and amuse, and customers come just to drink, eat, dance, chill and get away from the hustle and bustle of life.

At the heart of the Azmari Bet is the Azmari Minstrel. Whether playing the one-stringed masinko, the 5-stringed krar, singing songs – often made up on the spot to praise or make fun of customers – dancing, or reciting poetry, these are consummate performers who have learnt what it is to entertain. Their livelihood depends on it: the more they make people laugh and have fun, the more money they will earn.

Now this tradition has come to London and, following the success of the first Azmari Bet on the 25th May at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green, host Selam Amare is launching a follow-up event, aiming to celebrate the rich Ethiopian culture through traditional instruments, theatrical acts and live singing. This time special guest Lemn Sissay will launch his new book My Name is Why in the midst of the Azmari Bet.

Delicious Ethiopian food and beverages — including Tej, Ethiopia's famous honey wine — will be served.

Come and be hosted, entertained and fed by London's energetic Ethiopian community. Host Selam Amare is a second generation Ethiopian and aims to create a dialogue with the new generation of Ethiopians in the UK through cultural celebrations and discussions.

Doors open from 6.30pm with entertainment starting from 7pm. And stay and dance with DJ Sami until the early hours.

Tickets can be purchased via the Rich Mix website.



Anglo-Ethiopian Society Web Listing Summer 2019

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