ELIXIR FESTIVAL, LONDON

Described as “one of the finest, most intriguing singers on the British world music scene ….” Robin Denselow, The Guardian, 2019. London-based Kurdish singer-songwriter from Turkey, Olcay Bayir combines Anatolian folk traditions with dynamic grooves and funky rhythms, singing in Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian and Greek. 

Join us for an uplifting evening of music from the Kurdish-Anatolian singer-songwriter as she fills our space with her “heart-stoppingly beautiful and emotive voice” 

Championed by The Guardian as one of the finest, most intriguing singers on the British world music scene, Olcay’s velvet voice seamlessly blends her time-honoured Anatolian heritage with the dynamic grooves and funky rhythms of her current home, London.

Olcay Bayir’s compositions move from her Alevi and Kurdish origins, drawing inspiration from the Anatolian songbook with a nod to Mediterranean and Balkans sounds from flamenco to rebetiko. She will perform in Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian and Greek.