Hailu Mergia and Low Mentality + Zongo Junction

Keyboardist, arranger and composer Hailu Mergia was once a star in his native Ethiopia, sitting atop the Addis Ababa club circuit with his funky outfit the Walias Band. Unfortunately, his success didn't accompany him to America, where he has been driving a cab for nearly two decades. Last year's reissue of his 1985 album, Hailu Mergia and His Classical Instrument—an accordion, as it turns out—by cassette-excavating label Awesome Tapes From Africa brought him back into the musical spotlight. Catch him here with Low Mentality, a buoyant groove band led by Antibalas member Nikhil P. Yerawadekar.