Mawazine Festival in mid-May

Musicians from across the globe will come together in Rabat once again in May for the 2008 Mawazine World Rhythms festival. Jazz and gypsy music will be this year's focus, but listeners will hear music from many other genres over the course of the eight-day event.

This year's festival, to be held from May 16th-24th, is characterised by renewal, both in its programming and its sponsoring organisation. Mohammed Mounir Majidi, special advisor to King Mohammed VI, has taken over responsibilities as head of the festival, replacing outgoing director and AMC founding President Abdeljalil Hjomri.

The organisers explained that the Mawazine Festival has, over the years, placed emphasis on diversity and plurality in response to all tastes and views. The event promotes the values of unity, tolerance, love, security and peace, through the presence of artists from different countries, ages and languages.

In addition, there will be dozens of performances by musicians from Europe, Latin America, the Maghreb and the Middle East. Some of the artists include US jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater; Ziggy Marley, son of Bob Marley from Jamaica; Cheb Belal from Algeria; Amr Diab; Nancy Ajram; Asala Nasry; Saber al-Rubai; Diana Haddad; Fadl Shaker; and Natacha Atlas from the Middle East, as well as famous Moroccan singers such as Hayat Al Idrissi, Saeeda Fekri, Fatima Tihihite, Latifa Raafat, Nass El Ghiwane; Jil Jilala and Lemchaheb; and hip hop groups such as Darga, Fnaire, H-Kayne and Hoba Hoba Spirit, as well as a number of artists from Latin America. Link

Still the Most Powerful

Egyptian pop superstar Amr Diab has extended his lead this year in the Power 100 list to become the most powerful Arab popstar, ArabianBusiness.com can reveal.

In 2008, Diab jumped 14 places to 24 in the Power 100 list, an annual compilation of the world's most influential Arabs in all spheres of life by Arabian Business.

"Amr Diab is still raising the bar - often beating his own records - on Arabic record sales worldwide in a career that has spanned over 20 years in the entertainment industry, so it is no surprise that he has moved up from being number 38 on the list last year," Arabian Business magazine cited as the reason for his rise.

Published on Sunday (Mar 30) in Arabian Business and on ArabianBusiness.com, this year's list includes influential Arabs from the whole gambit of fields including sport, finance, medicine, entertainment, science and technology and real estate.


Link

Amr Denies It

Egyptian singer Amr Diab denied that the committee of the Kuwaiti “Hala Febrayer” (Welcome February) festival declined his participation because of the large amount of money he requested for his performance.

Diab said that he has participated in the “Hala Febrayer” festival for the past five years and decided not to participate this year. Link