Arif Sağ

Arif Sağ — Biography

Arif Sağ was born in 1945 in the village of Dallı, Aşkale district, Erzurum province, into an Alevi-Turkmen family, and became one of Turkish folk music's most influential bağlama virtuosos, singers, lyricists and composers. Trained as a child by master musician Nida Tüfekçi, he reached wide audiences through singles released from the mid-1960s onward, and in 1975 joined the Turkish Music State Conservatory of Istanbul Technical University as a lecturer, pursuing academic work on the bağlama and folk music.

He released his debut album, Gurbeti Ben mi Yarattım, in 1979 and gave his first bağlama recital at the Şan Theatre in 1982. Between 1983 and 1987, together with Musa Eroğlu, Muhlis Akarsu and Yavuz Top, he produced the Muhabbet album series, widely credited with laying the foundations of modern Turkish folk music. Over his career he also scored music for dozens of films and television series, from Yılanların Öcü to Ezo Gelin.

Sağ served as a member of parliament for the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) between 1987 and 1991 and remained aligned with the CHP tradition for decades, publicly backing party leader Özgür Özel in June 2026. In late July 2026, however, he made headlines by resigning from the CHP together with fellow artist Sabahat Akkiraz.