Selda Bağcan

About

Selda Bağcan (born 1948 in Muğla, Turkey) is a singer-songwriter, composer and political activist who became one of the defining voices of Anatolian folk-rock. She launched her career in 1971 while still a physics student in Ankara, and throughout the 1970s built a sound that fused traditional Turkish folk and bağlama with electric guitars and psychedelic rock. After the 1980 military coup she was imprisoned and had her passport confiscated for years, yet never stopped writing protest music; today her songs have been sampled by international hip-hop artists and she is listed among The Times' 81 Legendary Women Singers.

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Ranked among The Times' Legendary Women Singers (global list of 81)

What's new

2025-06
Selda Bağcan is scheduled to perform at a festival in Sivrihisar alongside other Turkish artists in June 2025.
2025-02
Bağcan performed at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht (February 1) and Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg (February 12) as part of a European tour.
2024-09
Bağcan established the Selda Bağcan Foundation, registered in Turkey's Official Gazette, to provide scholarships to students in need, support children with SMA, and fund animal shelters.
2024-04
Bağcan performed at the Little Waves festival in Genk, Belgium, continuing her presence on the European festival circuit.
2026-10
A concert at Congress Center Hamburg is listed for October 9, 2026, extending her German touring schedule into autumn.