WOMAD ABU DHABI KICKS OFF
By Eman Mohammed

Gulf News
April 25 2009
UAE

Abu Dhabi: More than 12,000 people enjoyed an exceptional musical
night in the capital as the three-day Womad Abu Dhabi festival kicked
off at the Corniche on Thursday night.

A diverse audience was thrilled at the multi-cultural open air concert
organised for the first time in the Middle East by World of Music
Arts and Dance (Womad) foundation and the Abu Dhabi Authority for
Culture and Arts.

Crowds had already started gathering on the public beach by 6pm.

As Zimbabwean group Siyaya started drumming at the northern stage,
people gathered to enjoy the African beats that were accompanied by a
performance by children from Al Khubairat British school. The children
had been rehearsing with the band for the last couple of weeks.

The audience also were treated to South Korean sounds by Dulsori.

People enjoyed traditional songs, the drums and a mix of jazz and
traditional Emirati music which were the result of a collaboration
between Jordanian musician Kamal Musallam and the Sokoor Al Magabeel
band.

The crowd seemed to double in number as Algerian singer Souad Massi
took the stage.

The universal rhythms continued when legendary Armenian musician Jivan
Gasparyan took the audience to a different world of Sufi music as he
performed on the southern stage. Meanwhile, Brazilian singer Marcio
Local rocked the other stage with his Salsa music.

Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, a Pakistani band performed some of the great
Sufi mystics of Islam.

At midnight the crowd could wait no longer for Khalid, the Algerian
singer also known as King of Rai, who then picked the Algerian flag
from the audience, wrapped it around his shoulder and delivered a
90-minute performance that proved why he is an international sensation.

As the audience insisted on hearing ‘Aisah’ – Khalid’s famous song –
he asked them to sing the song for him and pointed the microphone to
them. The crowd happily complied, thrilling Khalid who clapped his
hands for them. He promised the audience more during the festival.