Aster Aweke

When she arrived in her homeland in 1997 for the first time since she'd left in 1981, Ethiopian-born and Washington, D.C.-based songstress Aster Aweke was greeted by thousands of loyal followers awaiting her plane. During the month-long tour that followed, Aweke performed before more than 80,000 people and showed that she remains one of Ethiopia's best-loved performers.

Aweke has been equally successful throughout the world. Her second album, Kabu, spent four weeks in the top position on the CMJ New Music Charts,…