Tag Archives: Concert

Sia Is Coming To The Byblos Festival On August 9th


A source of mine just sent me the line-up of this summer’s Byblos Festival, in an otherwise very quiet lead up.

This same time last year, the festival had already confirmed John Legend and I had leaked Alt-J performing. Many had thought the festival was out of big names for this summer, but it seems we’ve all been wrong.

Sia, the Australian super star behind songs such as Chandelier and Titanium, will be performing on August 9th. No words yet on whether she will show her face, but her voice will more than suffice either way.

This will be Sia’s first performance in the entire Middle East. It will be a recreation of her critically acclaimed showcase at Coachella. 

In a surprisingly disappointing line-up, Sia seems to be the main draw when it comes to international talent. 

Other acts that will also be in the festival are Mashrou’ Leila, Hishik Bishik and Carole Samaha as Lebanese performers and renowned saxophonist Kenny G as well as Grace Jones.

The full line-up is present at the above picture and ticket prices will be as follows:

Standing:

– Regular: $75,

– Golden Circle: $125.

Sitting: $70, $90 and $150.

Alt-J Coming To Lebanon This Summer At The Byblos Festival

Alt-J

Your prayers have been answered, indie music Lebanese fans, for this year’s concerts are no longer just about the music you run away from. Rejoice!

Since you, my dearest readers, deserve a bit of happy news every now and then on here, I am leaking your way some major information that was shared my way. Yes, the Byblos Festival will be more than John Legend and The Script. Yes, you don’t need to keep worrying that it’s just too *mainstream* this year.

British band Alt-J will be coming to Lebanon for a concert this summer! It’s confirmed. The date will be announced soon. So for those who were in a state of panic, you can now relax (and get your money ready) because I’m sure this leak will brighten your day.

For those who don’t know them, Alt-J rose to prominence in 2012 with the album “An Awesome Wave.” Their latest offering, This Is All Yours, released in 2014, managed to top the UK albums chart. Their most famous song worldwide is “Tessellate,” which was covered by Ellie Goulding later on.

The song they rose to prominence with, however, is “Breezeblocks” which has clocked so far over 50 million hits on YouTube:

One thing to be said about all of this is kudos to the Byblos Festival for bringing high-profile talents to Lebanon year after year. Along with Alt-J, they are bringing John Legend who had the past year’s biggest hits in “All Of Me” as well as materializing a concert by “The Script” who were long-rumored to be coming.

In making sure that it is always of international caliber, Byblos Festival has consistently been a highlight of every summer we’ve had in Lebanon. And with all of this to the backdrop of arguably the country’s most touristic city, Jbeil, it becomes something you can’t not be proud of.

My hat goes off to all the effort that goes into making this successful and news-worthy every single year.

Update:

August 18th’s the date.

Alt-J Lebanon August 18

Lana Del Rey Coming To Lebanon For The Byblos International Festival on July 10th

Lana Del Rey Byblos Festival Lebanon

 

It’s OFFICIAL (link)

According to Frodo’s Blog who has been actively leaking major performers throughout the past several months, the rumors about Lana Del Rey coming to the Byblos festival this year are true.

The singer who’s famous for her melodramatic songs will be coming to Lebanon as part of the aforementioned festival for a concert on July 10th, beyond her showing up for the opening of Skybar on May 30th.

I’m not a fan of Lana Del Rey but I’m actually surprised the organizers of any festival in Lebanon were able to draw in such a currently “in” name to come perform here. I expect this to be the most hyped concert of the summer, if no other surprises happen.

For those who don’t know who Lana Del Rey is, you may recognize her sultry voice from the most depressing songs you encounter on Lebanese radio (if you listen to it). The songs that I know and which I believe are good enough are the following:

Born To Die:

And The Great Gatsby song, Young & Beautiful:

You can check out ALL of the lineup for the Byblos Festival here.

Is Rihanna Coming to Lebanon for a Concert?

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Friends of mine who attended Eddie Griffin’s comedy show over the weekend were tweeting about something the comedian said:

Rihanna might be coming to Lebanon for a concert this summer.

Such prospects would make this the event of the summer. Sorry The Script. Has Lebanon ever had someone as currently popular as Rihanna come for a concert in recent times?

However, for the same reasons it’s improbable for bands such as Coldplay or Muse to hold concerts in Lebanon, does it even make sense for her to come here?

Would an artist who’s used to international sell-out tours that fill stadiums and bring millions of dollars in revenue come to a country where venues such as “Stade de France” do not exist and where, despite potentially inflated ticket prices, profit wouldn’t be substantial and long-term fan base building basically irrelevant?

Either way, if there’s any truth to this, prepare for an onslaught of Rihanna songs on the radio – worse than what we currently have – and people gushing over how important Lebanon has become. I, for one, don’t think there’s much to it though.

The Script Coming to Lebanon This Summer?

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“The Script” Lebanese fans on twitter have been busy trending #TheScriptToLebanon for the past few hours. Soon enough, Twitter will show it trending as part of Lebanon’s regional “worldwide” trend and they’ll be satisfied.

But there’s actually more to it than a Twitter trend out of nowhere.

A trusted source has recently informed me that a local productions agency – I won’t reveal its name, just in case – is in talks to bring Irish band The Script for a summer concert in Lebanon.

Things are definitely not set in stone yet but the prospects are serious enough for some tidbits to actually leak: The Script are heavily considered to be this summer’s “it” band performing in the country.

Of course, given how things go around here, plans could fall through at any given moment given how preliminary they are at this point.

But Lebanese Script fans, rejoice, your favorite band may be meeting you soon enough.