You can’t help but be excited by the reception contemporary Turkish music has received from Israeli audiences over the last two years. It started with the warm embrace the union of veteran Selda Bağcan and our Boom Pam (which was also celebrated on Mekudeshet’s stage) enjoyed, and continued with a slew of young bands which even found their way into mainstream radio playlists.

Tonight we have one of the brightest and most promising stars of this genre, Turkey’s Derya Yıldırım and the Şimşek band comprising English, German and French musicians. The band, which started playing together in 2014, defines itself as, »outernational,« stateless, and is, indeed, a night of multi-style grooves, but at the heart of it all is Turkish folk music directly from the Antalya mountains. Yıldırım, who plays a number of instruments while holding a bağlama, leads Şimşek as they perform their own versions of this genre’s classics and materials from their first album, “Kar Yağar,” which is definitely making waves.

Kick off Night Stroll with us at the Tower’s central stage with one of the most promising bands in the Middle East who are playing live in Israel for the first time.