gulftoday.ae | World music comes to Sharjah

DAY 6

‘Twinge SHJ festival nurses collaborative spirit. Such initiatives will boost contemporary world culture in the country’

SHARJAH: The Music night held on Thursday as part of the ongoing urban and cultural arts festival “Twinge SHJ” at the Maraya Art Centre of Sharjah’s cultural hub Al Qasba was perhaps the most successful so far as it attracted half-a-dozen musical groups and individuals who performed live at the festival to their heart’s content.

Guitarist Abbo, R&B and Blues singer Tiny, Hip-Hop singer Feras, musical duo Desert Heat, and bands like 4 Brownies and Generation enthralled the audience with their live performances.

One of the major attractions on Thursday night was the all-student music band Generation. The four-year-old group comprised guitarist and lead vocalist Mohammed Al Khateeb, guitarist Mohammed Zamzam, drummer Sharif Omar and pianist Omar Goda. They entertained the audience with as diverse as Latin and Spanish to Arabic music.

Calender of events

Mar.2 - Magic of Poetry: Farrah Chamma, Muneer Jaehoon, Haneen Assaf, Abdulla Kassim, Shamma Kabital, Mohammad Azimudder, Asmaa and Afra Atiq will be taking the stage.

All events are being held at the Maraya Art Centre of Al Qasba. Doors open at 7pm and shows start at 8pm.

Another attraction was Abbo, a British musician who is living in the UAE for the past seven months. Abbo said he has travelled across Europe, the US, Australia and Philippines, but loved the culture in the UAE where contemporary music is in a growing stage.

“In countries like the US and UK I found cut-throat competition, but not in the UAE. The UAE may not be at the world stage, but the country has already initiated steps in that direction,” he said.

He praised the concept behind the Twinge SHJ festival saying it nurses collaborative spirit, which is difficult to find in his home country. He also added that such initiatives will boost contemporary world culture in the country.

Tiny, a Bahraini national, said he loves to belt out R&B and Soul numbers. The self-motivated R&B artiste, who considers Donell Jones his idol, is a student of the Canadian University in Dubai and has won several musical contests. He has also been part of the MBC’s Arabs Got Talent for which he has travelled Bahrain and Lebanon.

Feras was thrilled by the response he got at his maiden live performance in Sharjah though he was born and brought up in the UAE.

The young singer, who loves crooning Hip-Hop numbers, considers his style of music as experimental.

He was part of the musical band “Diligent Thought” till 2007, when the members decided to do solo projects, while coming together occasionally for music sake.

The festival will conclude on Friday with a night dedicated to poetry.