From Lebanon’s ancient ruins to Egypt’s coastal arenas, summer in the MENA region unfolded as a sequence of spaces reimagined for sound. Stages rose against stone temples in Baalbeck with Hiba Tawaji. In Saudi Arabia, MDLBEAST’s two-city finale moved between Riyadh and Jeddah. London and Paris hosted a smaller but no less intentional momenta with Zeyne treating fans to listening parties for her forthcoming album Awda. Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon also played host to their own international musical festivals, running month-long programs and bringing back to life dormant events to their former glory.
Hiba Tawaji Lights Up Baalbeck International Festival with Stages
Across two sold-out evenings, the temples of Bacchus and Jupiter shifted from archaeological landmarks to working stages. Stages (حقبات), conceived by vocalist Hiba Tawaji and shaped under the direction of Oussama Rahbani, folded theatre, live music, and projection into the Baalbeck International Festival’s ancient backdrop.
Light mapping traced the stone’s relief, choreography threaded between the columns, and Tawaji’s voice moved through the ancient space with ease. The work paid quiet homage to Baalbek itself and to the Rahbani family’s creative lineage, marking a century since Mansour Rahbani’s birth. Over 200 performers occupied the site, not to overwhelm it, but to bring its scale into conversation with the music.
Tawaji shared the stage with trumpeter and composer Ibrahim Maalouf, as well as French-Lebanese musician Ycare. They shifted between Arabic, French, and English. One of the evening’s most resonant sequences came with “Bala Wala Shi,” which was offered in honour of Ziad Rahbani. At the piano, Oussama Rahbani; on trumpet, Maalouf; overhead, archival images of Ziad, a restrained but clear gesture of respect.
MDLBEAST Wrapped its 2025 Summer Run with a Two-City Finale
On August 7, Riyadh’s ANB Arena was reimagined as AFT_r — the festival’s after-hours concept — bringing a final surge to the capital. Opening duties fell to Shancoty, a rising producer folding Amapiano inflections into a slick electronic set. Midway through the night, Black Eyed Peas took the stage with guest vocalist J.Rey, running through a catalogue of global hits before handing the decks to Italian trio Meduza for a deep, driving close.
The next evening, attention shifted west to Jeddah’s Onyx Arena for the season’s last event. Local favourite Sharkk opened with a dynamic mix, followed by Bayou, tilting the energy upward without rushing it. Black Eyed Peas returned for the headline slot, delivering another high-energy performance tailored to the new crowd. Meduza — represented this time by a single member — closed the night with a progressive house set that stretched until the final lights.
Zeyne Gives London a Taste of Her Upcoming Album Awda
In July, Zeyne brought Awda to life in both Paris and London, performing two sold-out show. Fans in each city were treated to an exclusive first listen of her debut album, out this September, as she moved between hit singles like “Balak,” “Asli Ana,” and “Hilwa” and unreleased tracks that drew the rooms into her world. In London, her intimate Awda listening party closed on a warm note, with DJ Habibeats and Sunayah joining to keep the atmosphere lifted.
The Awda journey carried beyond the stage — in London, she partnered with local café Frothee to create the Awda Matcha, a floral blend of orange blossom and jasmine inspired by Palestinian flavours, with 25% of proceeds going to the Gabu Sittah Children’s Fund.
New Alamein Festival Traces Arc of Egyptian Pop and Hip-Hop
Egypt’s North Coast has long been a summer escape, but the New Alamein Festival turns it into a stage. This July and August, the seaside city pulses with a program that spans generational memory and present-tense urgency: voices that once filled car stereos on family road trips sharing the bill with the country’s sharpest rap and indie acts. The effect is less a line-up than a living map of Egyptian sound.
What gives the festival its edge is its civic scale — U-Arena and sprawling beach stages reimagined as public squares, where pop spectacle doubles as a fragile experiment in community. Even its curation feels like a deliberate social mix, forcing the crowd to sway between nostalgia and now.
The programming traced the arc of Egyptian pop: Angham opened on 18 July; Tamer Hosny followed; Amr Diab lit up the sands on 1 August; Assala Nasri took the spotlight on 7 August; Tamer Ashour sang the next night; Marwan Pablo and Lege-Cy join forces today; Wegz on 22 August; and Cairo-rooted rockers Cairokee are set to wrap things up on 29 August.
Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts Turned Roman Stone into a Summer Stage
This summer, Jerash with its Roman ruins silhouetted under floodlight, became a cultural loom weaving past and present. The 39th edition, running from 23 July to 2 August, staged more than 235 events across its South and North Theatres, the Main Square, Sound and Light Theatre, Artemis, and Column Street, with extensions into Amman and other governorates.
The artist line-up felt like a chronicle of regional taste: Omar Al-Abdallat opened, followed by Nassif Zeytoun, Mohamed Hamaki, Ahlam, Assala Nasri, Melhem Zein, Joseph Attieh, and others.
What made this edition quietly remarkable was its embrace of scale and intimacy. University ensembles populated the North Theatre; poetry and philosophical panels unfolded behind columns; children performed in Artemis; artisans exhibited; and Sri Lankan dancers made a vivid debut on August 2, imbuing the event with an unexpected ripple of global colour amid Jordan’s own traditions.
Carthage’s Roman Stage Held Music, Memory, and Maplines to the Pulse of the Region
This year, the 59th International Festival of Carthage unfolds across the ancient amphitheatre until 21 August, framed not by a central director but by a steering committee guiding 20 performances drawn from Tunisia, the Arab world, France, and Jamaica.
The festival opened with a locally produced piece, “Men Kaa el Khabia” by Mohamed Garfi, setting the tone for the edition. From there, the evenings unfolded with a roster that moved through different registers: theatrical satire, orchestral fusion, pop icons like Latifa Arfaoui, Nassif Zeytoun, and Nancy Ajram, and genre-spanning names such as Ibrahim Maalouf, Chantal Goya, Saint Levant, Ky-Mani Marley, and the closing-night star, Ahlam.
This edition wasn’t without its friction, cancelling the Hélène Ségara slot sparked social-media backlash, enforcing the festival’s commitment to political optics and cultural solidarity. Still, beneath that tension, the event reaffirmed its purpose: a place for Tunisia’s reclaimed theatrical heritage to co-exist with international talent.
Byblos International Festival Returns
After several years of absence, the Byblos International Festival returned under the new stewardship of In Action Events with five nights of live music held from 5 to 10 August along the Byblos’ harbour, UNESCO-listed old town, crusader castle, and Mediterranean coast.
The line-up carved a clear arc: Guy Manoukian & Friends opened with a familiar blend of piano and regional textures on night one. Opening night belonged to Guy Manoukian & Friends, followed by Jason Derulo’s pop spectacle. Later nights blended electronic beats from Lost Frequencies, the voice of Slimane, and closed with Naïka.
There were no extra theatrics, the setting itself was quietly cinematic— just a bold stage against the water, a food court and a curated run of artists.
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