A trio of Gulf music stars will team up for an Abu Dhabi Eid concert.
Held in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre on June 6, Emirati pop king Hussain Al Jassmi will lead a bill that will feature the songstress Balqees and rising talent Eisa Al Marzouq.
The concert is part of a planned series of Khaleeji concerts by The Department of Culture and Tourism called Hala Bil Khaleej, and is set to feature a diverse line up of regional artists from the Gulf and the wider Middle East.
That regional flavour will also extend outside of the concert hall with plenty of locally inspired retailers and pop-up food stores available to music goers.
A look at the artists
Hussain Al Jassmi
No stranger to grand occasions, Al Jassmi’s Abu Dhabi show comes after two key performances in the capital. In January, he took part in the opening ceremony of the AFC Asian Cup at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.
He followed it up in February by performing in the same venue as part of the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi. He was part of an A-list cast of singers including Luis Fonsi, Avril Lavigne, Assala and Tamer Hosny, in singing the ceremony's official anthem Right Where I Am Supposed to Be. After his Eid date, Al Jassmi's next major gig will be in Moroccan capital Rabat to perform as part of region's biggest music festival, Mawazine, on June 29.
Balqees
An assured performer with a beautiful soprano voice, the Emirati-Yemeni singer Balqees made her music debut in 2013 with the record-breaking album Majnoun Balqees. Her follow-up release, Zay Ma Ana, was even more successful, being named the most downloaded album on iTunes in the Middle East in 2015.
Her latest album is called Arahenkom. In addition to her commercial success, Balqees also performed some landmark concerts in the UAE. As well also joining Al Jassmi as part of the AFC Asian Cup opening ceremony, Balqees also supported tenor Andrea Bocelli in his 2016 concert at Du Arena. She joined him on stage during the encore for a stirring take on the folk song Canto della Terra.
Eisa Al Marzouq
The 27-year-old Kuwaiti singer is still making his way through the competitive Arab music industry but time is on his side. Ever since impressing the judges in 2013 on the reality show Star Academy, Marzouq has dropped a steady stream of singles including his 2017 hit Thamen Ajeba which clocked up over 65 million streams on YouTube.
Hala Bilkhaleej concert featuring Hussain Al Jassmi, Balqees Fathi and Eisa Al Marzouq is on June 6 at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi at 7pm. Tickets begin from Dh100 at door. To book your tickets call 800555 or email to contact@halabilkhaleej.ae
