Music of Lebanon

The music of Lebanon has a long history. Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, has long been known, especially in a period immediately following World War II, for its art and intellectualism. Several singers emerged in this period, among the most famous Fairuz, Sabah, Wadih El Safi, Nasri Shamseddine, and in the early 1970's Salwa Katrib, Majida El Roumi, Ahmad Kaabour, and Marcel Khalife, an activist folk singer and oud player, and most importantly Ziad Rahbany who on top of being an engaged singer/songwriter and music composer, he was also a very popular playwright. During the fifteen-year civil war, most of the Lebanese music stars moved to Cairo or Paris, with a large music scene in Beirut only returning after 1992. Modern pop stars include Najwa Karam, Diana Haddad, Nawal Al Zoghbi, Haifa Wehbe, Elissa, Ragheb Alama, Ayman Zbib Walid Toufic, Wael Kfoury, Fares Karam, Amal Hijazi, Nancy Ajram, Melhem Zein, Fadel Shaker, Assi El Helani.

The annual Fête de la Musique, held in late June, brings the whole country out for organized and spontaneous underground concerts.