Biography
Who is Mohsen Namjoo?
Early life and education
Mohsen Namjoo was born on August 19, 1976, in the town of Torbat-e Jam within the Razavi Khorasan province. He grew up in the religious city of Mashhad. At the age of 12, he began studying classical Persian music. During his youth, he developed an interest in Western artists such as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Jim Morrison, and Chris de Burgh.
His formal academic path included attending the University of Tehran and the Iran University of Art. He also studied at the Prayner Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Arts located in Vienna.
Musical career and albums
The musician held his first two concerts in the late 1990s, focusing on a combination of music and Iranian poetry. In 2005, he released the single Nobahari, which was based on a poem by Sadi and dedicated to Shahram Nazeri. His debut album, Toranj, was released in Iran in September 2007. This collection included nine traditional folk songs featuring poems by Rumi, Hafez, Attar, and Baba Taher.
In 2010, he started on the A Minor tour, performing at locations like the Sony Centre for the Arts in Toronto and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. That same year, he released Such Strange Times, which was his first song performed in English. His 2011 live album, Alaki, was recorded at Stanford University during the Stanford Pan Asian Music Festival. He followed this with the 13/8 compilation in 2012, featuring pieces developed in the United States.
Academic work and film
Mohsen Namjoo served as an Artist-in-Residence at Brown University within the Middle East Studies department starting in late 2013. During the spring of 2014, he taught the course titled Tradition and Protest: Persian and Iranian Music. He also led classes on Revolution and Poets: Content and Form in Iranian Poetry during the fall of that year. His teaching included musical talks on Iranian Rhythms and the work of Shahram Shabpareh.
Beyond music, he has appeared in several film projects. He was featured in the 2006 documentary Sounds of Silence and acted in the narrative film A Few Kilos of Dates for a Funeral. In 2016, he appeared in the feature film Radio Dreams. He also made a guest appearance in the 2023 comedy web series Creeps from the Middle East.
Legal issues and return to Iran
In 2008, Mohsen Namjoo went into exile following his album Toranj, which was viewed as an insult to the Islamic regime. While living in Vienna in 2009, he received a five year prison sentence in absentia for his musical recordings. In 2020, an anonymous social media account accused him of sexual assault and harassment. Namjoo and his legal team have consistently denied all these allegations of misconduct.
In April 2022, he posted a video apologizing for any words or deeds that may have caused hurt. However, a leaked audio recording later caused controversy regarding his comments on women and religious topics. No criminal proceedings have been initiated and no findings of liability have resulted from these accusations. After living abroad for nearly twenty years, he returned to Iran in August 2026.
Birthday and age
Mohsen Namjoo was born on August 19, 1976, which makes Mohsen 50 years old today. That birthday falls under the Leo sign. Mohsen shares the date with 61 other famous people.
Explore more
