The Beat DXB Lockdown: Saudi Arabian singers to headline all-female online music festival

The event features Sawsan Al Bahiti, who many consider the kingdom's first female opera singer

Sawsan Al Bahiti will take part in the upcoming Beat DXB Lockdown event. Courtesy E Whisper.

After the success of the region's largest online music festival earlier this month, The Beat DXB Lockdown is returning with another pioneering virtual music affair.

An all-female Saudi Arabian line-up will perform as part of the The Beat DXB Lockdown Saudi Femmes edition, which will take place on Instagram on Wednesday, April 22..

Beginning at 10pm UAE time, 13 artists will take to their respective social media accounts to live-stream a 15-minute set from their homes, with performances coming from across the globe, including Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US.

The list of names performing reflects the eclecticism of the Saudi music landscape. The line-up includes Jeddah RnB singer Sarah Chafei, Los Angeles soul singer Tamtam and UK soprano Sawsan Al Bahiti.

Bringing all the talent together is regional music personality Hass 'Big Hass' Dennaoui. In many ways, the show is a virtual homecoming for Saudi-born Dennaoui. The Beat concept originally started in Jeddah before being rebranded as The Beat DXB upon his move to the UAE more than five years ago. The Dubai version has been running for more than two years with regular concerts held across the emirate.

With the live music scene on pause due to the pandemic, Dennaoui said it was important to take shows online, so artists are “encouraged to keep on creating".

More importantly for Dennaoui, he wanted to use his platform to shatter certain misconceptions surrounding Saudi Arabia.

"We wanted to support female artists in general – and when it comes to my home country, there are a lot of stereotypes surrounding Saudi females in general and I wanted to ... showcase their passion and love," he tells The National.

“We are living in weird and crazy times and I wanted to showcase something special which is Saudi Arabia. The line-up is diverse: we've got opera singers, RnB artists and rappers. I am so proud of my Saudi sisters and I want them to know that I am forever their servant and here to support them in any way I can.”

Here are some of the key acts to check out tonight:

Sawsan Al Bahiti: 10:50pm

Hailed as Saudi Arabia's first opera singer, the soprano is an artist and vocal coach, having received her certification from the New York Vocal Coaching Centre. With the kingdom's entertainment sector opening up at a rapid pace, Al Bahiti made her national debut last June in Riyadh, where she was accompanied by the prestigious Teatro alla Scala Academy’s symphony orchestra at the King Fahad Cultural Centre.

Sarah Chafei: 12:45am, Thursday, April 23

This up-and-coming singer has a powerful voice and diverse tastes. Her Instagram videos show her covering songs by the likes of Sia (Cheap Thrills) and the Arctic Monkeys (Do I Wanna Know?).

Tamtam: 1am, Thursday, April 23 

Coming live from Los Angeles is the talented RnB singer. Tamtam has been garnering abuzz both in the region and abroad with her woozy tracks and ethereal vocals, which are best exemplified in tracks such as Gender Games and Lana Del Rey-esque Hollywood. One of her singles, We've Got Wings, was used as a theme song for 10KSA, a non-profit organisation founded by Princess Reema bint Bandar that focuses on breast cancer awareness.

For more details on The Beat DXB Lockdown, visit instagram.com/thebeatdxb