One of the Arab world’s most popular bands, Mashrou’ Leila, which hails from Lebanon, will travel to Bloomington this month. The band, which has a prominent voice in gay culture, will perform at 8 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
Mashrou’ Leila’s performances combine the craft of a music workshop with stadium rock, according to the Buskirk-Chumley Theater’s website. The group has a distinct approach to storytelling and orchestration, and its work includes both melancholic ballots and piercing anthems.
The band formed in 2008 as a group of students who played music together at the American University of Beirut, according to the Buskirk-Chumley’s website. Now, the band is made up of vocalist and lyricist Hamed Sinno, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Firas Abou Fakher, violinist Haig Papazian, drummer Carl Gerges and bassist Ibrahim Bad.
The band has performed live in sold-out venues worldwide, including Beirut, Paris, Amsterdam, Montreal, Geneva and Dubai, according to the Buskirk-Chumley Theater’s website. While the band has brought people of many different backgrounds together, its anti-authority mindset has begun to provoke reactions.
“Actual restrictions,” Fakher said on the Buskirk-Chumley Theater website, “Like us not being able to perform in certain places in the Arab world.”
Doors for the general admission show will open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be found on the Buskirk’s website.
Katie Chrisco
