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Yaesoun Hamoud

The Low-Down on Radio Beirut’s Shoreline Sessions

If you missed Radio Beirut’s first Shoreline Sessions at Colonel Brewery in Batroun, you definitely don’t want to make the same mistake again. With a killer line-up of music at the chillest and hippest venues throughout Lebanon, these festivals are the definitely-must-attend music events of the summer.

Natalie from Radio Beirut gave us the low-down on what’s in store for the rest of the summer.



Beirut.com: What are the Shoreline Sessions?
Natalie: The Shoreline Sessions are Radio Beirut’s first outdoor festival series, happening at different outdoor venues once a month throughout the summer. The festival offers up a platform for new music coming out of the Arab world and beyond, it’s an extension of what we’ve been doing at Radio Beirut for the last three years.

Beirut.com:Where are the upcoming Shoreline Sessions being held?
Natalie:The next Shoreline Sessions will be held at Long Beach in Manara. It’s an iconic venue that harks back to the golden days of Beirut’s coastline when singers would perform on the seafront – and it’s the perfect location for live music with the sea as a backdrop. The location of our August and September Shorelines is a surprise. Hold tight!

Beirut.com:When are the Shoreline Sessions being held throughout the summer?
Natalie:Our next one is happening this Friday, the 24th of July. We have a third edition on Saturday, the 29th of August and then we have a special event in September with a big international name on Saturday the 26th.

Beirut.com:Why are the Shoreline Sessions unique from other music festivals?
Natalie:Our tagline for the festival is future beats from the Arab world and beyond, and that’s what we’re doing; bringing together artists who are making innovative new genres and creating interesting sounds that come from the region – from old legends such as Omar Souleyman who have been making chaabi music for years, to acts such as Maurice Louca who have taken influence from it and fused it with other genres to make something new.

Beirut.com:Who will be performing at the Shoreline Sessions?
Natalie:For this Friday’s event we have the Syrian chaabi singer Omar Souleyman who does dabkeh with folk and electronic music and started out in the wedding scene before becoming known within the Arab world as his tapes got distributed. We also have Restless Leg Syndrome – an interesting trio from Austria who made an album called “dabkeh” sampling from the Arab world and fusing it with hip hop. Also on the lineup is Maii and Zeid – a musical project between the Egyptian singer Maii Waleed and independent producer and musician Zeid Hamdan, renowned for founding outfit Soap Kills and numerous other bands in the region. We also have a DJ set from RLS and we’ve brought Audio Kultur into the mix to do their “Sound System” – their resident AK DJ Rami O will be DJing between the acts to keep the party going all night.

Beirut.com:How can music lovers stay up to date with all the latest news about the Shoreline Sessions this summer?
Natalie:Like Radio Beirut’s Facebook page for updates on our next Shoreline Sessions event, or drop us an email on live@radiobeirut.net and we’ll add you to our mailing list to keep you updated with our events.

So there you have it fellow Beirutis. Make sure to head over to Long Beach early this Friday though, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The sundown with happy hour prices and delicious Lebanese cuisine is not to be missed.

Fri 24 July, 6 p.m. to late
Long Beach, Manara
Pre-sale tickets $20, door $25
Buy your tickets at Presella.