The recent cancellations of major shows in the UAE, from Shakira to Christina Aguilera, might suggest this year’s concert season is more muted than we are used to.
But with a fresh wave of major announcements, including news that The Chainsmokers and The Script will join Lewis Capaldi, Zara Larsson and Imagine Dragons to headline the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix concert series, the season feels far from muted.
Tune out the noise even further and what emerges is everything else still being heard and presented on stage.
As someone who has covered the UAE music scene over the past 15 years, I have seen how it keeps developing. I am constantly reminded just how diverse the scene is beyond the billboards and social media.
Our latest guide to concerts and live events, published this week, is an example. It has more than 60 shows spanning the Emirates, but that is only what we can reasonably include. There are actually more than 100 concerts and performances happening across the UAE into the new year.
For me, that makes this an opportune time to venture beyond familiar artists to discover something new. When it comes to exploring sounds, the UAE concert scene can be the ultimate mixtape.
The diversity of UAE audiences, with residents making up more than 80 per cent of ticket buyers, pushes promoters – from major companies to independents – to think beyond a commercial playlist.
That goes beyond ethnicity to cultures, formats and genres, helped by the growing variety of venues available, from Etihad Arena and Coca-Cola Arena to Dubai Opera, Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi and Sharjah’s Al Majaz Amphitheatre.
The thriving Arabic concert scene is a good place to start. For as long as I have been living here, the UAE has remained a premier destination for well-executed Arabic shows.
State-of-the-art arenas have finally given major Arabic pop stars the opportunity to perform in venues befitting their stature. In other parts of the region they would often play grand halls or ballrooms, but here they can bring the kind of show they dream of.
Take Najwa Karam, who performs at Coca-Cola Arena on October 2. A lot of Lebanese and Arabic pop concerts rely heavily on vocal precision and orchestral arrangements, and there is not always a lot of showmanship.
Karam is different. She is dynamite on stage, matching that presence with her commanding, mountainous vocals. Her hits are rooted in Lebanese folk music, so they are full of rhythm, built for crowd participation, and a must-see live.
Another artist worth seeing if you are new to regional sounds is Egypt’s Amr Diab. To call him an Arabic pop star is accurate but incomplete. He is also a major international draw, selling out shows in Europe and America, and not just to diaspora audiences.
If you want to go to an Arabic pop concert, Diab’s return to Coca-Cola Arena on November 7 is a good place to start. His music is full of Mediterranean colour, mixing Arabic pop with sweeping balladry, carried by his honeyed vocals. Hits such as Nour El Ain and Tamally Maak are formidable live, and over the course of a 90-minute concert the effect can be euphoric.
Meanwhile, in Abu Dhabi, Tamer Hosny and Tamer Ashour perform at Etihad Arena on October 17. The Egyptian singers are two very different but accomplished balladeers, offering another way into contemporary Arabic pop.
And that is only the bigger acts. Go further into the calendar and you will find gems such as Gulf pop veterans Miami Band. Hear how Algerian and Moroccan folk traditions merge with jazz and funk in the hands of Fanfarai, while Sami Galbi takes a similar North African mix into electronic music.
Scan further and you find eclectic events that closely reflect the UAE itself. Filipino audiences have TJ Monterde and KZ Tandingan, South Asian audiences have Pakistani singer Atif Aslam, while Turkish fans have seen more stars from Turkey making the UAE part of their touring schedules, including one of their biggest names, Tarkan.
For me, this is the joy of looking at a concert calendar. I like seeing a name that initially means nothing to me because it gives me a reason to be curious.
It encourages me to venture out and encounter audiences I might not otherwise come across. When I attend the annual Tamaas Festival or any show at The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi, I find a warm community of culture lovers gathered together. Then I go to Abu Dhabi Festival, which returns in October with ballet and opera, where the audience is more formal but no less welcoming.
These audiences attending each night are a truer measure of the music scene than whether a superstar concert or festival goes ahead. These smaller and perhaps less celebrated events are the lifeblood because they keep the scene active, venues functioning and people employed.
When the big pop stars come back here in earnest, they will still matter, but they should not feel like the headliners. If anything, they are the support acts to the real draw: the UAE’s eclectic music scene.
