Drowning out the anger, Egypt’s ‘Cairokee’ turns protest into rock fest

Amid the ongoing protests that aim to oust Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi, one band dared to drown out the sound of the angry crowds with their music.

Cairokee, an Egyptian rock band formed in 2003, performed live in front of the Ittihidaya Presidential Palace on Monday night, where thousands of anti-Mursi protesters gathered.

According to Ahram Online, the band tweeted “we will join the Egyptian people at Ittihadiya” before the performance.

According to Wasla.fm, an online radio station, the band name “Cairokee” is a combination of the words “Cairo” and “Karaoke,” which intends to mean that the group “singing along with Cairo.”

The band has five members; Amir Eid on vocals and rhythm, Tamer Hashem on drums, Adam El Alfy on bass guitar, Sherif Mostafa on keyboard, and Sherif Hawary on lead guitar.

The band is famous for their songs mainly related to politics since the January 25 revolution which ousted former leader Hosni Mubarak.

Some of their famous hits include Ya, el Midan (Oh You, the Square) in reference to Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square.

UAE-based The National newspaper described this song as “a touching duet about Egypt's awakening political consciousness” in a review of the band.

The group was set to perform at 5 p.m. (local time) on Monday, however the group announced on social media that the show would be postponed till later in the evening.

The band thanked all their supporters who sang with them during their performance and was met with requests to perform again at planned protests on Tuesday night.