Palestinian, Israeli artists perform with Alicia Keys
The festival, organized by the Global Citizen initiative, hosted music industry giants like Jay-Z, Carrie Underwood, Beyoncé, Tiesto and The Roots
Along with Israeli artist Idan Raichel, Palestinian qanun player Ali Amr joined U.S. musician Alicia Keys on stage to perform her song “We Are Here” at the Global Citizen music festival in New York at the weekend.
The festival, organized by the Global Citizen initiative, hosted music industry giants like Jay-Z, Carrie Underwood, Beyoncé, Tiesto and The Roots.
Amr played the qanun, while Raichel sat across Keys on a Piano. The two artists occasionally joined a pregnant Keys in singing the song, whichs spoke of inter-cultural dialogue addressing global conflicts.
Morocco-born Amr, who goes by the stage name of Amr Paris, has performed at the United Nations, the Carnegie Hall, among other coveted venues.
His website lists a series of collaborations with high-profile names such as Quincy Jones.
The festival went on for six hours and featured addresses from heads of charitable foundations. Concert screens also showed videos in between performances on the plight of those suffering of poverty, addressing the main theme of the festival.
The New York Times reported 60,000 people flocked to see artists perform for a good cause.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made an appearance where he pledged to provide toilets to all Indians by 2019.
The Global Citizen movement, based in New York, aims to help its supporters “find effective and relevant ways to create change, as individuals and as a community.”
-
Alicia Keys visits typhoon refugees in Philippines after Dubai gig
The American singer distributed crayons and coloring books to children at the Villamor Air Base grandstand Variety -
‘Save your soul’: Stars urge Alicia Keys to cancel Israel gig
R&B star Alicia Keys is being pressured this week by celebrities to join an anti-Israel boycott and cancel her upcoming concert in Tel Aviv. Alice ... Art and culture -
Gaza war stops director attending Sarajevo film festival
More than 2,070 Palestinians and 64 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza Middle East -
London’s Tricycle Theatre lifts ban on Jewish film festival
Amid the Gaza crisis, the Tricycle Theater had said it would not host the festival as long as it was sponsored by the Israeli embassy Entertainment -
Polanski skips Swiss movie festival after storm of criticism
Polanski fled the U.S. before he could be tried in the case, and Geimer has said that she has forgiven him Entertainment -
London theater rejects hosting Jewish film festival
The Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn has dropped the UK Jewish Film Festival because it was sponsored by the Israeli Embassy Life -
Calls mount to boycott Israeli play at Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The cultural boycott of Israeli productions has formed part of a global movement for Palestinian rights Variety -
UAE’s ‘Freshly Ground Sounds’ looks to launch local musical talent
The gap between musicians, music-lovers and community venues in the UAE is being bridged Entertainment -
‘Afrobian’: Moroccan singer talks about merging Arabian, African musical traditions
In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya News, Moroccan singer Ahmed Soultan discusses his own musical genre which he had dubbed ... Reports -
Michael Jackson’s ‘A Place With No Name’ first to get Twitter premiere
Jackson became the first artist to ever premiere a music video on micro-blogging site, Twitter. Entertainment