Tamar Radah was almost four when she left her village in Ethiopia for Israel in 1991 during Operation Solomon, which brought over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel to escape the threat of civil war and famine. She is one of nine children, and their father was determined that they would integrate into Israeli society while maintaining Ethiopian heritage. He played the Masenqo, a traditional Ethiopian single stringed instrument and encouraged them all to engage with music from a young age.
Tamar (35) took the cue. Her first album, Tamaradah, released in 2018, is a classic Israeli rock sound while the second, Adisge [2021], features pop mixed with African sounds. The title track pays homage to her home village in Ethiopia: “Adisge, Adisge, you walk with me wherever I turn.”
ERTEVÉ, released in 2023 (Ertevé is her Ethiopian name) is sung entirely in Amharic, an Ethiopian semitic language.
After October 7 Tamar released the single Ech Metaknim Et HaLev (How to Fix the Heart,) paying tribute to those killed or taken in the attacks.
“Stories that have not been told / People that still haven’t come back / Today I have hope / That we will continue to invent love.”
Tamar’s unique vibrant fusion of world music has Ethiopian folk music and cultural Afro-Caribbean grooves sung in Hebrew and Amharic. Her talent is trailblazing globally – and now she is performing in the UK for the first time at JW3 next month with a totally joyous vibe – she just doesn’t stop dancing to her live four-piece band and loves her audience to do so too.
Why not join in with the Young JW3 crowd who are meeting up preshow in the café area. Join like-minded people in their 20s and 30s for a chat followed by TamaRadah’s gig!
TamaRadah is at JW3 on 10 July. jw3.org.uk/tamaradah
To join the Young JW3 social event click here
