'Iran's Bob Dylan' set for concerts in Turkey

ISTANBUL

Mohsen Namjoo will take the stage in Ankara and Istanbul in January 2015.

Iranian musician Mohsen Namjoo, known in Turkey for his song “Ey Saraben,” will perform in Istanbul as part of the 6th Avea concert series. He will take the stage at Congresium Ankara on Jan. 28, 2015 and the Istanbul Congress Center on Jan. 30, 2015.

Namjoo has been hailed as the “Bob Dylan of Iran” by The New York Times. The songwriter, singer, music scholar and setar (traditional Persian lute) player lives in California.

Since 2003, Namjoo has spent time recording part of his work in Tehran. His debut album titled “Toranj” was officially released in Iran in September 2007. He has composed soundtracks for movies and plays, and was featured in the documentary “Sounds of Silence,” directed by Amir Hamz and Mark Lazarz and screened at international film festivals.

In 2008 Namjoo kicked off his first solo U.S. tour, which granted him the Visiting Artist Fellowship at Stanford University. Since late 2013, he has been Brown University Middle East Studies’ 2014 Artist in Residence.

In this capacity, he is currently working with Iranian filmmaker, scholar and playwright Bahram Beyzai on his new project commissioned by Stanford University.