This is Beirut

Thousands Honor Ozzy Osbourne at UK Hometown Funeral Procession

This is Beirut, 12:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Music Tribute Ozzy Osbourne Fans Britain Culture

Thousands lined the streets of the UK city Birmingham on Wednesday to pay an emotional farewell to hometown hero Ozzy Osbourne as the heavy metal hellraiser was laid to rest. Black Sabbath frontman Osbourne, who earned the nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness" and once bit a bat while on stage, died on July 22 at the age of 76. He had been ...

Ziad Is Gone, the Drama Isn’t

Salam El Zaatari, 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Ziad Rahbani Music Fairouz Culture Lebanon

Ziad Rahbani, Lebanon’s most brilliant satirist and musical artist, was finally laid to rest. But instead of a dignified farewell fitting of the man who gave voice to a nation’s contradictions, his funeral devolved into a spectacle, an unintentional parody of the plays he once wrote. Some mocked Dima’s presence, others sneered at Majida’s ...

Pop Memorabilia: Glittery Michael Jackson Sock Fetches $8,822 at French Auction

This is Beirut, 30/07 22:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Music Michael Jackson Auction Legend France Culture

A single glittery sock that late pop superstar Michael Jackson wore during a concert in France in the 1990s sold for more than $8,000 on Wednesday, a French auctioneer said. A technician found the used sock discarded near Jackson's dressing room after the concert in the southern city of Nimes in July 1997, auctioneer Aurore Illy told AFP. The ...

'Panigiria': Folk Festivals Punctuate Greek Summer Life

This is Beirut, 29/07 11:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Festival Greece Culture Art Music Dance

It's midnight in the Aegean Sea, but on the Greek island of Ikaria, in the courtyard of the church of St. Elijah, the revelry is barely getting started. Dozens of dancers and scores of onlookers, including many tourists, are attending the local panigiri, a folk celebration that is an integral part of centuries-old summer traditions in villages ...

AI Bands Signal New Era for Music Business

This is Beirut, 29/07 11:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

AI Music Culture Art Spotify

A rising tide of artificial intelligence (AI) bands is ushering in a new era where work will be scarcer for musicians. Whether it's Velvet Sundown's 1970s-style rock or country music projects Aventhis and The Devil Inside, bands whose members are pure AI creations are seeing more than a million plays on streaming giant Spotify. No major streaming ...

Honkytonk Kenya: Africa’s Home of Country Music

This is Beirut, 28/07 16:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Music Kenya US Culture

The party is in Kenya, but the vibe is distinctly Americana: a sea of cowboy hats and boots with a soundtrack of whisky-soaked tales about heartbreak and good old boys. Kenya has become the unlikely home of a growing country music scene, possibly the biggest in Africa, as testified by the thousands line-dancing in a field in the capital Nairobi ...

Lebanon Bids Final Farewell to Ziad Rahbani

This is Beirut, 28/07 10:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Ziad Rahbani Fairouz Music Lebanon Middle East Rahbani Brothers

Lebanon paid a final tribute on Monday to renowned artist Ziad Rahbani, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 69. In a deeply emotional and somber atmosphere, the composer’s coffin arrived at the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in al-Mhaïdseh – Bickfaya. Family, friends, fellow artists, and members of the public ...

Musical Satirist Tom Lehrer, Droll Prophet of Doom, Dead at 97

This is Beirut, 28/07 09:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Tom Lehrer Satirist Music Culture Art Heritage

Tom Lehrer, the acclaimed humorist and pianist whose satirical songs made him one of America's favorite prophets of doom before he retreated to academia, has died, US media reported Sunday. He was 97. The singer-songwriter died Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his friend David Herder said, according to The New York ...

The Fearless Genius Is Gone: Ziad Rahbani Carries Lebanon’s Memory Into the Beyond

Marie-Christine Tayah, 26/07 20:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Ziad Rahbani Music Heritage Fairuz Culture Lebanon

Born on January 1, 1956, in Lebanon, Ziad Rahbani embodied the rebellious, artistic and restless soul of his nation. Raised in a musical dynasty, he built his own identity note by note, word by word. At only 17, he composed Sa’alouni el-Nass, a politically charged and deeply emotional work that marked the beginning of a prolific, independent ...

The Final Curtain for Ziad Rahbani

This is Beirut, 26/07 14:25 - Reading : less than a minute

Ziad Rahbani Lebanon Music

Ziad Rahbani, the rebellious son of Lebanon's musical dynasty, has died at the age of 69. He leaves behind a legacy of fearless art, political satire and cultural revolution.

Ziad Rahbani, Fairuz’s Son and Cultural Icon, Has Died

This is Beirut, 26/07 11:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Ziad Rahbani Music Culture Lebanon Art Heritage

Lebanon is mourning one of its most influential cultural figures. Ziad Rahbani, composer, pianist, playwright, and outspoken political commentator, has died at the age of 69. Born in 1956 to the legendary singer Fairuz and pioneering composer Assi Rahbani, Ziad grew up surrounded by music. Yet, he forged his own path, blending art, satire, and ...

Tributes Flood in for Black Sabbath Frontman Ozzy Osbourne

This is Beirut, 23/07 16:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Music Osbourne Tributes Britain Worldwide Culture

Tributes poured in Wednesday for hell-raiser singer Ozzy Osbourne as Black Sabbath bandmates mourned the death of their legendary frontman and tearful fans laid flowers in his hometown Birmingham, just weeks after he played an epic reunion concert there. Osbourne, nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness" who famously once bit off the head of a bat ...

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