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Habibi Festival 2024 feat. Nour Harkati, NARCY, Mona Miari, Taktouka, Karim Ziad w/ Mehdi Nassouli, Layth Sidiq & Israa Shalaby

Habibi Festival 2024 feat. Nour Harkati, NARCY, Mona Miari, Taktouka, Karim Ziad w/ Mehdi Nassouli, Layth Sidiq & Israa Shalaby

October 8 - October 12, 2024

Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the South West Asia North Africa (SWANA) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living rooms of cities spanning Marrakech to Baghdad. This performing arts festival, now in its fourth year, is a collaboration between the Director of Joe's Pub Alex Knowlton, artist/composer/curator Yacine Boulares, and curator/producer Meera Dugal who are bonded by the goal of creating more joyful spaces for performance, conversation, and storytelling from this part of the world.

2024 HABIBI FESTIVAL SCHEDULE AND LINEUP
Tues, Oct 8: Nour Harkati + NARCY w/ special guests
Wed, Oct 9: Israa Shalaby  + Mona Miari
Thurs, Oct 10 Taktouka + Karim Ziad w/ Mehdi Nassouli
Fri, Oct 11: Layth Sidiq + Karim Ziad w/ Mehdi Nassouli
Sat, Oct 12: Israa Shalaby + Layth Sidiq

Photo Credit: Sachyn Mital

Website

Thank you to our festival partners: afikra | عفكرة, Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI) & Habibi Festival's creative partner NOORstudios

October 8 - October 12, 2024

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Lineup.

Image of Israa Shalaby

Israa Shalaby

Israa Shalaby is a Palestinian singer and songwriter who recently relocated to NYC. Her new single release featuring American Producer Carmen Rizzo is a mixture of Sufi style with experimental organic sounds. Israa’s songs are a powerful testament of the free spirit. She is known for her raw, honest lyrics and her ritual-oriented performances.

Image of Karim Ziad

Karim Ziad

Karim Ziad is a renowned Algerian singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. After performing in a hard rock band in his youth in Algiers, Karim relocated to Paris where he established himself as an acclaimed drummer for many notable groups including Cheb Mami, Khaled and Idir. Also a talented guitarist and guembri player, Karim’s inventive playing and songwriting melds influences from North African music, including Chaâbi, Gnawa and Raï, with contemporary jazz and electronica.

Image of Layth Sidiq

Layth Sidiq

Layth Sidiq is a Grammy-nominated violinist, composer, and educator currently serving as the artistic director of the New York Arabic Orchestra and Artist in Residence at NYU Abu Dhabi. He has toured the world, sharing the stage with renowned artists such as Simon Shaheen, Danilo Perez, and Jack DeJohnette, and performing at prestigious venues like the London Jazz Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, WOMEX Expo, and Montreal Jazz Festival. Layth's first record, Son of Tigris, premiered at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2016 and he is featured on multiple award-winning albums. In 2018, Layth made history as the first Arab to participate in the Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition, where he won 2nd place. He was also honored with the 'Best International Artist' award at the 2020 Boston Music Awards. In addition to his performance career, Layth directs the Center for Arabic Culture's Youth Orchestra Program in Boston and has been a faculty member at Carnegie Hall’s ‘Music Educators Workshop’.

Image of Mehdi Nassouli

Mehdi Nassouli

Mehdi Nassouli is a Moroccan guembri player whose passion for preserving Moroccan music is matched by his energetic and engaging stage presence. Growing up in Taroudant, Mehdi was immersed in traditional Gnawa culture, a spiritual music of ancient and rich African heritage. Inspired and surrounded by the sounds of Moroccan musical heritage, Mehdi devoted himself to studying deqqa, a traditional form of art from Taroudant and spent the better part of a decade learning several traditional musical styles across Morocco. Mehdi was featured on French guitarist Titi Robin’s album Les Rives (2012) and the two later collaborated on a joint album, Taziri (2015), with both albums yielding extensive international touring. Mehdi has since fused his traditional North African style with jazz and other world styles in his own band and his collaborations with luminaries like Herbie Hancock, Fatoumata Diawara, Nneka, Justin Adams, Hindi Zahra, Andy Emler, Benjamin Taubkin and Alpha Blondy.

Image of Mona Miari

Mona Miari

Mona Miari, an independent Palestinian/American Artist, Singer/Songwriter, and Lawyer based in New York City. Born in Chicago, IL. Mona's journey led her to Palestine during her youth, where she embarked on her music career. Her remarkable talent gained recognition by headlining her first major concert at the prestigious "Jerusalem - The Capital of Arabic Culture 2009" festival. Dedicated to showcasing the richness of Arabic culture and music, Mona embarked on a professional music career, taking part of various cultural festivals and concerts where she combines Palestinian/Levantine folklore into her performances and repertoire, expressing her diverse upbringing by exploring and reapplying the Arabic language to different music genres, embracing global influences.

Image of NARCY

NARCY

NARCY, real name Yassin Alsalman, is a polymath. He is a celebrated video director, a published author through Haymarket Books and a co-owner of Old Montréal bookshop, MAKTABA. But he is most known for his truth-filled bars and relentless creative output as The Neo-Arab Rebel Called Yassin. He is also part time professor at Concordia University in Montreal for the last decade, helming all of its Hip-Hop courses including the viral classes on Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. He is on the eve of releasing a double LP- To Be An (Arab) - a music and art project about identity in the possibility of multiple dimensions of Planet Earth and challenging the idea of who is allowed to simply "Be". Catch him while you can (unless, of course, you're the feds, please.) 

Image of Nour Harkati

Nour Harkati

Nour Harkati is a renowned Tunisian musician and singer-songwriter known for his innovative blend of traditional North African music and contemporary influences. 

Mastering the ancient Guembri and infusing his work with modern rhythms, Harkati crafts a unique sound that resonates deeply with diverse audiences. 

His lyrics combine philosophical depth with a jubilant spirit, making his music both introspective and uplifting.

Nour's new album, "MOULENA", is an electrifying fusion of tradition and modernity. 

Featuring the resonant tones of the ancient Guembri paired with the gritty pulse of New York City drums, “Sidi” is a vibrant homage to North African roots and a tribute to those who journey far from home. 

With its deep, poetic lyrics and infectious groove, Harkati offers a fresh, boundary-pushing sound that’s both thought-provoking and celebratory.

Image of Taktouka

Taktouka

Taktouka is made up of New Yorkers with wildly different musical backgrounds: Alia Haju on vocals, Bashar Farran on bass, Daro Behroozi on woodwinds and synth, Clementine on keys and synth and Jesse Chevan on drums.

The band brings Arab folk music together with electronics and western instruments, creating a mix of old and new that reflects the rich cultural tapestry of New York City. The sounds of jazz improvisation, global dance grooves, and Arabic melodies enrich and transform each other, bridging cultures, genres, ideas, and communities.

Their debut EP “Bassara” was completed thanks to support from NYC Women’s fund and the NYFA in 2022.