Artist
Kadim Al Sahir
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Kadim Jabbar Al Samarai better known by his artistic name as Kadim Al-Saher (Arabic: كاظم الساهر; born September 12, 1957 in Mosul, Iraq), is an Iraqi singer, composer and songwriter. He has been dubbed the "Caesar of Arabic Song", and "Iraq's Ambassador to the world".
Kadim Al-Saher has established himself as one of the most successful singers in the history of the Arab World, since the start of his career. Ranging from big romantic ballads to more political work, from pop to Arab classical music. In 2003, according to an international poll conducted by BBC, more than half-a million people from 165 countries voted his composition Ana Wa Laila (Me and Laila), his most famous song about his love for Laila, as the sixth in the world's top 10 most popular songs of all time.
He performs with an orchestra of twenty to thirty musicians on Arabic percussion, oud, qanun, nay, and a full complement of strings (violin, cello, and bass). While some of his work makes use of electronic musical sounds, he avoids the use of synthesizers to imitate acoustic instruments. His work frequently features Iraqi folk instruments, rhythms and melodies.
Before he entered the Baghdad Academy of Music, Al Saher's self-education through the radio had given him a firm grounding in the rich repertoire of mid-twentieth-century Arab vocal music. He became deeply familiar with both classical Arab music, whose main representatives were Egyptian and Lebanese, and the Iraqi maqam repertoire, a local art form featuring vocal virtuosity and a vast repertoire. This solid grounding in traditional musical styles informs his work as both a singer and a composer.
One of his first videos was made in collaboration with one of his friends that happened to be a television director. The song in question was "Ladghat El Hayya" (The Snake Bite), which was broadcast on Iraqi television in 1987, one year before the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The song was the source of a major controversy due to particular sensitivities that were common during that era. Iraqi television officials asked him to either change the lyrics or have it banned. His refusal to change the lyrics and its consequent ban only helped to increase the popularity of the song. He began giving concerts all over the Persian Gulf and recording his music with Kuwaiti labels.
A year later, he had a hit with "Obart Al Shat" (I crossed the river). Some of his professors at the Academy denounced it as sha'bi (pop) music, anathema to those who taught classical music. Al-Saher had managed to circumvent the system and had become a star on his own terms—he even undertook his first US tour in 1989. Having conquered pop, Al Saher turned around and established himself in the Arabic classical world with "La Ya Sadiki" (No, My Friend), a magnum opus that lasted almost an hour and found him using maqams (scales) that hadn't been used in Iraqi music in several decades, revitalizing a tradition.
In 1991 and due to the Persian Gulf War, Al-Saher transferred his base of operations to Jordan where he lived with his family for a few years. He considers living in Jordan as an important period of his life and career success later on. Al-Saher performed some of his most successful concerts which were held in Jerash and produced two successful albums at Sameer Baghdadi's Studios in Amman, Jordan.
Points of sale
Head There!
2025
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July
MELHEM ZEIN
08:30 PM | Joseph Tohme Skaff
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
MANIA THE ABBA TRIBUTE
09:00 PM | Serenata by Nabu
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
BLOOM with GHINWA
07:00 PM | Daraj El Zouk
MOUHAMMAD KHAIRY
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
MARWA NAGY singing UMM KULTHUM
09:00 PM | Serenata by Nabu
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
MARIE SLEIMAN Featuring Soprano LENA KHATER
09:30 PM | Casino du Liban
ZIAD BOURJI
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
MAGIDA EL ROUMI
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
Diwaniyat Hob - ديوانية حب
08:30 PM | Echoes of the Golden Era | Beiteddine Palace
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
Symphonic Electro-Dance
08:30 PM | Château Rweiss
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
SHEHERAZADE
07:30 PM | IXSIR winery
MELHEM ZEIN
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
SHEHERAZADE
07:30 PM | IXSIR winery
Tribute to Musician MOHAMMAD ABDULWAHAB
08:30 PM | Ghalboun
NOQTA WARA NOQTA
05:00 PM | Casino du Liban
We group and DJ Marc French 80s night
08:30 PM | Zaarour Club
WAEL JASSAR
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
Lebanese Classical Night Maestro LUBNAN BAALBAKI
08:30 PM | Ghalboun
ADONIS
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
Love and Revenge
09:00 PM | MusicHall
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
AL SHAMI
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
GUY MANOUKIAN
08:30 PM | Ehden
CARLOS
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
BEER WINE AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL WITH HANINE
07:30 PM | Batroun
Amioun Heritage Festival - AKHRAS in concert
08:30 PM | Amioun
MOEEN SHREIF
10:00 PM | KAY Lounge
MAYYAS
08:30 PM | Cedars International Festival
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
Cedars Transportation - MAYYAS
Transportation Cedars
Echoes of the Cedars by Michel Fadel and Rony Barrak
08:00 PM | ARZ EHMEJ
BEER WINE AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL WITH ZEF
07:30 PM | Batroun
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
HERITAGE - Dadju & Tayc
08:30 PM | Forum de Beyrouth
BEER WINE AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL WITH IYAM EL LIRA
07:30 PM | Batroun
JOSEPH ATTIEH
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
Sparkling Summer with RODGE
07:00 PM | BAR NATIONAL
The Musical كلو مسموح - Anything Goes
08:30 PM | Performed by the incredible Carole Samaha | Beiteddine Palace
JOHN ACHKAR
09:30 PM | Beirut Waterfront
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
ZADE DIRANI
08:30 PM | Forum de Beyrouth
ADAM
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
The Musical كلو مسموح - Anything Goes
08:30 PM | Performed by the incredible Carole Samaha | Beiteddine Palace
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
Opera CARMEN
08:00 PM | Baalbeck
GUY MANOUKIAN
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
ABEER NEHME
08:30 PM | Ehden
Transportation for Baalbeck Festival - Carmen
04:00 PM | Transportation Baalbeck
SAINT LEVANT IN CONCERT
09:00 PM | Batroun
DJ STEPH DIAB
08:30 PM | Bentael Mar Mema
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
WAEL KFOURY
08:30 PM | Cedars International Festival
Cedars Transportation - WAEL KFOURY
Transportation Cedars
Transportation for Baalbeck Festival - Carmen
04:00 PM | Transportation Baalbeck
Opera CARMEN
08:00 PM | Baalbeck
MOEEN SHREIF
08:30 PM | Bentael Mar Mema
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
Ehden - DANCING MOON III
08:30 PM | Ehden
Fundraising Event for LeBAM
08:30 PM | DANCE AROUND THE WORLD | Beiteddine Palace
JUNAID ZEIN EL DINE & ABBAS JAAFAR
08:30 PM | Bentael Mar Mema
ELISSA
09:00 PM | Beirut Waterfront
325 yrs Antonine concert - AN UNFADINGLIGHT
08:30 PM | Mar Elias Church
BLACK COFFEE
08:00 PM | Cedars International Festival
Cedars Transportation - BALCK COFFEE
Transportation Cedars
"Fragile" by Tania Saleh with the participation of Khaled Mouzanar
08:30 PM | Smar Jbeil Citadel
KHYEL SAHRA
08:30 PM | Casino du Liban
One Thousand and One Nights - New Dates
08:00 PM | Theatre Caracalla
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