The Washington Post rediscovered Hailu Mergia, the Ethiopian keyboardist who drove a U.S. taxi for years

In June 2019 the Washington Post told how keyboardist Hailu Mergia, once a star in Ethiopia, spent about twenty years driving a taxi to and from Dulles International Airport before reissue labels and new audiences brought his music back into view.

Between fares he would pull over and practice, keeping alive a sound that later found younger listeners far from Addis Ababa’s old nightclub circuit.

Kept as culture and music archive, the Post profile dates the diaspora rediscovery of Mergia’s career for English-language readers.

Sources: The Washington Post