JP Music

Jamaica Plain's Debo Band Breathes New Life into Ethiopian Pop

Leader Danny Mekonnen brings his large group and their new album to the Paradise in Boston

It’s pronounced "debbo," and it means communal labor or collective effort in Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia. “It’s kind of an archaic word,” said JP resident Danny Mekonnen, 31, who founded and plays saxophone in Debo Band. “It’s not a word that’s in everyday use, but it’s short and easy to remember, and it has a nice definition of people working together.” In fact, Debo Band has 11 members working together, playing exciting, dance-worthy original songs that are sort of a mash-up of traditional and modern Ethiopian pop music. They’ve been together since 2006, most of them live in JP, they have a new self-titled album out on the Sub Pop label, and they’re performing at the Paradise in Boston on Aug. 1. Mekonnen recently spoke …

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