Tuesday October 21, 2025 8pm (7:30 Doors) SISTERS - 900 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11238 $20 Admission

Stick around for the jam after the set!

Sheikh Emam’s music is wry, witty, revolutionary Arabic folk from the 60’s, 70's, and 80’s. This show features his music and story, including his early upbringing, partnership with Poet Mohamad Negm, and their struggles against state censorship and imprisonment until the revival of their music and poetry in recent years. Emam's music is influenced by Quran recitation along with the popular music of composer Zakaria Ahmad. This show will be narrated in English along with song translations.

Featuring: Alia Haju on vocals and frame drum Mohamed Salah on oud and vocals Bashar Farran on Bass and vocals Sami abu Shumays on violin and vocals Zafer Tawil on Percussion and vocals

Alia Haju is a Brooklyn-based musician and filmmaker. She arrived in New York after fleeing Lebanon for the second time in 2020. Alia grew up on the music of Sheikh Emam through smuggled cassette tapes her mother used to listen to. Sheikh Emam shaped her music and politics. Alia has taken Sheikh Emam's music and her own to the streets of Beirut during the Lebanese uprising, and to the streets of New York during BLM, Pride, and Gaza protests. Alia received support for her band Taktouka's first album from the NYFA and has performed on world-famous stages like Lincoln Center, Great American Music Hall, Joe's Pub, and the Joshua Tree Music Festival. - full names of all musicians and their instruments (if you want)

Storyteller and narration: Andrew Simon is a historian of media, popular culture, and the Middle East. He is a Senior Lecturer in Dartmouth. He has written multiple publications exploring the history and influence of Sheikh Emam and Mohamad Negm in Arab popular culture.