Dubai invites visitors to tune into its musical calendar

(20 March 2009) Music is the world’s common language. It is little wonder, therefore, that Dubai – which boasts one of the world’s most multi-cultural populations – has an equally diverse musical programme in place to ensure that all tastes are catered for. Aside from its annual jazz and rock music festivals, Dubai has ensured that it has become the cornerstone for tours by many of the world’s leading chart and dance acts.

Today, British rock legends Deep Purple will be the headline act at Dubai Festival City as part of the emirate’s annual Dubai Bike Week, a three-day motorbike festival. The critically acclaimed band, known for its classic Smoke on the Water, and crowned by the Guinness Book of Records as the loudest in the world, has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. They will be performing alongside local artists including Abri, Juliana Down, Paul Akiki, Lumi, The Meerkats and DJ GQ.

Another highlight in Dubai’s musical calendar is the Dubai Desert Rock Festival. This weekend event, which ran earlier this month, is held annually at Dubai Festival City celebrating different styles of rock and metal music from around the world. This year, the event was opened by two currently unsigned bands who shot to fame in United We Rock’s online battle of the bands. Scarab – an Egyptian group whose heavy, powerful music is at once both raw and melodic. And German band, Hatred, who merge old-school Thrash-Metal with the high screams and melodic choruses more commonly associated with Power Metal, joined Arch Enemy, Opeth, Chimalra and Nervecell as well as headline act and rock music veterans, Motorhead.

Dubai Desert Rock began in 2004 as just a three hour show, before its popularity saw it evolve into a much longer extravaganza. Deemed as the ‘hottest rock festival on the planet’ by leading industry magazine, Kerrang!, the festival reflects the enormous interest in this niche musical genre both within the Middle East and internationally.

At the other end of the musical spectrum is the Skyline Dubai International Jazz Festival, which is held annually at Dubai Media City. This year the festival took place in February with a stellar line-up including smouldering UK songster James Blunt, multi-platinum Grammy Award winning American John Legend and Incognito, world-renowned for their innovative acid-jazz fusion. There were some 30 acts from around the world performing in all.

And the music doesn’t end there – Dubai has hosted some of the world’s top house and dance DJs, with more set to follow including Peppermint Experience featuring Ferry Corsten - who is currently ranked number six in a poll by British publication DJ Magazine - on 10 April at Madinat Arena. Others have included Fatboy Slim – who played at Barasti Bar in February this year, to Armin Van Buuren and DJ TIESTO (ranked numbers one and two respectively), Dubai is developing a line-up of dance acts to rival traditional, European clubbing destinations.

With some impressive venues at Dubai Festival City and other indoor and outdoor venues, the emirate is perfectly placed to host concerts by the biggest names in the business. And a veritable ‘who’s who’ of performers has played there over the years – with even more set to grace the stage in the future.

“The diversity within Dubai – from its cosmopolitan population, to the range of world-class attractions on offer for leisure and business visitors – is unrivalled. And in the case of the variety of music offered, this is no different,” says Ian Scott, UK and Ireland director for Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing. “Dubai has managed to uphold its own strong local musical culture and traditions, while at the same time introducing some of the world’s most celebrated acts from a broad spectrum of genres to the emirate. Visitors to Dubai have come to expect the best from their experience – including the chance to enjoy the music they love in the emirate’s exceptional surroundings.”

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