Three popular bands, El Morabba3 from Jordan, Mashrou' Leila from Lebanon and Sharmoofers from Egypt will take the stage at Cairo Festival City on Friday, 22 September. The concert is part of the Music Park Festival, which will begin at 4pm and continue until late evening. Founded in 2009, the Jordanian rock band El Morabba3 consists of Muhammad Abdullah (bass, song writer, vocals), Odai Shawagfeh (electric guitar, keys/synthesizer, producer) and Dirar Shawagfeh (drums). On their Facebook page the band presents themselves as follows: "El Morabba3 to us is the window in which we see things we want to express... being from a region that had seen a lot and still does every day. This window serves as our escape and our return all together." This is not El Morabba3's first concert in Egypt as the band has performed in Cairo on a few occasions in the past. Mashrou' Leila is one of the most popular Lebanese indie bands in the contemporary Arab music scene. The band consists of five architecture students and a graphic designer. They began in 2008 in Beirut, following an open call for auditions by the three founding members: Haig Papazian (violin), Andre Chedid (guitar) and Omaya Malaeb (keyboard). The idea was to start a band to relieve stress, especially in light of enduring political instability in Lebanon. Today, the band members include Hamed Sinno, Ibrahim Badr, Carl Gerges, Haig Papazian and Firas Abou Fakher. Mashrou' Leila's first concert in Egypt took place in 2011 when the band performed at El-Geneina theatre during Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy's (Culture Resource) summer programme. Since then they visited Egypt on several occasions, making their Alexandria debut in 2013. Founded in 2012 by vocalist Ahmed Bahaa and bassist Moe El-Arkan, Sharmoofers' lineup also includes Ahmed Aly (percussion), Mostafa Kerdani (drums), Mohamed Labib (saxophone), Islam "Solly" Ali (trumpet) and Adel Mohamed (percussion). Since its inception, Sharmoofers has entertained a large following with their music online and through live performances. In April 2014, they performed on the third season of El-Bernameg, the satirical show hosted by Bassem Youssef. A month later, they made their debut live performance at Al-Azhar park, and have since been performing in various venues across Egypt. Programme: Friday 22 September, 4pm Music Park Festival at the Cairo Festival City Mall Tickets for the concert can be purchased through Tickets Marche. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
