Nahko
Singer/Songwriter
The next Nahko concert is scheduled for Friday, May 16, 2025 at Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO, United States. See all 1 upcoming concerts
![Listen to Hawaii 78: Song Across Hawaii (Radio Edit) [feat. Nahko, Common Kings, Jake Shimabukuro, Ka'ikena Scanlan, Kimié Miner, Kaumakaiwa, Raiatea Helm, Hawane Rios, The Green, Sudden Rush, Makaha Sons of Niihau, Pearl Jam, J Boog, Kapena & Hawaiian Charter School Youth] (feat. Nahko, Common Kings, Jake Shimabukuro, Ka'ikena Scanlan, Kimié Miner, Kaumakaiwa, Raiatea Helm, Hawane Rios, The Green, Sudden Rush, Makaha Sons of Niihau, Pearl Jam, J Boog, Kapena & Hawaiian Charter School Youth) by Mana Maoli Collective, see lyrics, music video & more!](/mkimage/image/thumb/Music123/v4/f0/86/18/f08618d0-af7d-5844-8dbb-26e52f1b5c8d/859733541003_cover.jpg/375x375bb.webp "Listen to Hawaii 78: Song Across Hawaii (Radio Edit) [feat. Nahko, Common Kings, Jake Shimabukuro, Ka'ikena Scanlan, Kimié Miner, Kaumakaiwa, Raiatea Helm, Hawane Rios, The Green, Sudden Rush, Makaha Sons of Niihau, Pearl Jam, J Boog, Kapena & Hawaiian Charter School Youth] (feat. Nahko, Common Kings, Jake Shimabukuro, Ka'ikena Scanlan, Kimié Miner, Kaumakaiwa, Raiatea Helm, Hawane Rios, The Green, Sudden Rush, Makaha Sons of Niihau, Pearl Jam, J Boog, Kapena & Hawaiian Charter School Youth) by Mana Maoli Collective, see lyrics, music video & more!")
Upcoming Concerts for Nahko
Nahko's Popular Music Videos
![Watch I Believe (Live) [feat. Michael Franti & Nahko] music video by SOJA](/mkimage/image/thumb/Video221/v4/b6/b4/04/b6b404a8-486f-8948-58b4-04b390bc5660/Jobc8297ca0-16b0-4d9c-82b9-8f5111e3e1e9-191405525-PreviewImage_preview_image_122400_video_sdr-Time1745957162955.png/575x575mv.webp "Watch I Believe (Live) [feat. Michael Franti & Nahko] music video by SOJA")
About Nahko
Hometown
Portland, OR, United States
Genre
Singer/Songwriter
Also known as Nahko Bear, Nahko (Nahkohe Parayno) is a sixth generation Apache/Mohawk with a Puerto Rican/Indian mother and a Filipino father, who grew up with the family that adopted him in an Oregon suburb. He suffered some early childhood identity problems until he began to ground himself in music. Taking up the piano at age six, he gave piano lessons and directed musical productions for local schools in his teens. His talents landed him a seasonal production position in Denali, Alaska, and there, with the wilderness around him, he began to put all the musical, cultural, and philosophical pieces of his personal creative vision together.
Seeing music as international, multi-generational, and multicultural, and as a redemptive and healing force, he joined with his backing group, Medicine for the People, anchored by horn player and Berklee School of Music graduate Max Ribner and percussionist Hope Medford. Together they began making what has been called "thump-hop," a percussion-heavy, rainbow-envisioned mix of styles and approaches that is at times as much spoken word as anything else -- a sort of 21st century medicine show for the mind and soul.
The group's debut album, Dark as Night, appeared in 2013, and debuted at number six on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. After the follow-up, 2014's On the Verge, SideOneDummy released the group's third album in 2016. Titled Hoka, it reached number 72 on the Billboard 200. A year later, the band's leader released a more personal solo album, My Name Is Bear, under the name Nahko. Calling it a "prequel," it consisted of songs written mostly before he assembled his group. ~ Steve Leggett
