This year's Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) will feature the renowned Moroccan pop singer Samira Said in an all-female opening concert. The other musicians performing will include the Dutch band Pink Oculus (hip-hop, soul, jazz, electro and pop), the French Elbi (R&B/soul, Afro and house) alongside other Egyptian female singers and bands. The female line-up is part of the festival's celebration of women in music. Founded and managed by Ahmed El Attar, D-CAF is a multidisciplinary festival presenting a rich line-up of music, visual arts, dance, film, literature, and theatre, in Downtown Cairo. The seventh annual festival will be held in various Cairo locations from 8 to 29 March. With her long history and successes in the pop music field, featuring Said is a new conceptual move on the part of the festival organisers. In the official press release, El Attar said the singer's versatility is reminiscent of DCAF. "It is a festival that presents splendid and distinguished performances to the contemporary art scene. I see that over the course of her [Said's] stunning career, she successfully managed to take a different and an alternative route. Said is considered the only singer that challenged everyone, and changed her style more than once; her latest album is an evidence, which contained several songs that are different in style and lyrics than what is on the music scene now, in addition to her collaboration with international artists… that's why I see her similarities with D-CAF,” El Attar writes. Said, who was born in 1958, has released 46 music albums, and more than 500 songs, many of which are major hits across the Arab world. "She has collaborated with many international artists; she successfully reintroduced, and evolved the Arab music scene in early 2000s, when she collaborated with Cheb Mami in song 'Youm Wara Youm,' which considered a new wave in music, and video-clip back then," D-CAF's press release says. Said represented Morocco at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest with her song Bitaqat Hubb ("Love Card"), becoming the first and last singer to perform at the event while representing an Arab country. She has won many international awards, including the World Music Award, and the BBC Music Award. Programme: Friday 9 March, 7pm Al-Azhar Park, Salah Salem Road, Cairo 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
