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, Melhem Barakat, Majida El Roumi, Ahmad Kaabour, Marcel Khalife, and Ziad Rahbany, who—in addition to being an engaged singer-songwriter and music composer—was also a popular playwright. Lydia Canaan was hailed by the media as the first rock star of the Middle East.
Nancy Nabil Ajram is a Lebanese singer, television judge and businesswoman. Dubbed the "Queen of Arab Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of Arabic pop music in the 21st century. With the support of her father, she began performing as a child and appeared on several television shows in her early years. By the age of 15, Ajram signed a recording contract with EMI and released her debut studio album Mihtagalak (1998). In spite of being under the legal age, Ajram was exceptionally accepted to the Syndicate of Professional Artists in Lebanon. The following year, she released her second album Sheel Oyoonak Anni (2001).
Sabah was a Lebanese singer and actress. Nicknamed Shahruret-el Wadi, شحرورة الوادي, in the Arab world, she released over 50 albums and acted in 98 movies as well as over 20 Lebanese stage plays. She had a reported repertoire of over 3,500 songs. A Lebanese TV series named Al-Shahroura “الشحرورة” was made about her in 2011. She was among the first Arabic singers to perform at the Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Sydney Opera House. She is considered one of three Lebanese icons, along with Fairuz and Wadih El Safi, and was nicknamed "The Empress of the Lebanese Song".
Soapkills or Soap Kills is an indie electro-pop band based in Lebanon. The group was formed in October 1997 when Zeid Hamdan and Yasmine Hamdan, both born in Beirut in 1976 but not related, decided to explore and combine their interest in classical Arabic song and electronic music.
Rockpalast is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). Rockpalast started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz bands have performed on Rockpalast. Some acts were recorded for broadcast and for retail sale. All-night marathon shows called “Rock Night” (Rocknacht) were produced once or twice a year from 1977 through 1986 and simulcast throughout Europe via the Eurovision network of TV broadcasters, thereby reaching around 25 million listeners on average. Rockpalast is involved in several German pop, rock and underground music festivals, once sponsoring the Bizarre-Festival.
Mashrou’ Leila is a Lebanese four-member indie rock band. The band formed in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2008 as a music workshop at the American University of Beirut. The band has released four studio albums: Mashrou' Leila (2009), Raasük (2013), Ibn El Leil (2015) and The Beirut School (2019); and an EP, El Hal Romancy (2011), while causing many controversies due to their satirical lyrics and themes.
Hamed Sinno is the Lebanese-American lead singer of the alternative rock band Mashrou' Leila.
Nasri Atallah is a British-Lebanese author, producer, television host and media entrepreneur. He is one of the co-founders of Last Floor Productions and contributing editor to GQ Middle East.
Haig Papazian is a Lebanese-Armenian multidisciplinary artist, composer, and architect born in Beirut and currently based out of New York. He is a founding member and violinist of Lebanese pop band Mashrou' Leila.
Nour Hage is a Lebanese fashion designer, textile artist and digital artist, known for her eponymous brand "redefining Arab menswear" and her frequent collaborations with other Arab and South Asian artists and designers, including Riz Ahmed, Mashrou' Leila and many others. In 2021, she became a Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Postcards is a Lebanese dream pop/indie rock band formed in early 2013. They have released three EPs, Lakehouse (2013), What Lies So Still (2015), and Here Before (2017). Their first full-length record, I'll be here in the morning, was released on the 26th of January 2018, via Ruptured Records and T3 Records.
Bosaina is an Egyptian singer, songwriter, producer, art curator, actress, and occasional model best known as the lead vocalist for a number of bands in the Kairo is Koming collective, including Wetrobots, Zuli and Quit Together. She has also pursued a solo project and participated in the Red Bull Music Academy in Tokyo in 2014, and starred in Touchstone Pictures’ first Disney film in the Middle East, The United.
Akher Zapheer is a Jordanian grunge Arabic rock band from Amman, Jordan, formed in late 2007. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Basem Sayej who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes. The current line-up consists of Basem alongside Rami Alqasem Amr Abukhlif and Masis Mardirossian
Aziz Maraka, is a Jordanian composer, singer, performer, recording artist, and producer. Maraka created a music style called "Razz", an Arabic Rock-Jazz fusion that garnered regional attention. He also released materials as Azis Maraka & Razz, including the album Master Copy.
Firas Abou Fakher is a Lebanese composer, musician, producer and writer. He is best known as a composer, guitarist, and keyboardist with indie rock band Mashrou' Leila and the co-founder of Last Floor Productions.
Carl Gerges is a Lebanese musician and architect. Gerges has been featured on the cover of L'officiel Levant and on the cover of Architectural Digest Middle East as an architect; and on the Middle East edition of Rolling Stone magazine and GQ Middle East as a musician.
Alireza Shojaian is a Paris based Iranian painter and visual activist.
Raed El Khazen, also known as REK, is a Lebanese guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is primarily known for his fusion of blues, funk and rock, as well as his versatile jazz guitar playing with a distinctive sound influenced by oriental and other world music – best represented on his album Ghosts and Shadows, released in 2016.
Mariam Saab is a Lebanese-Australian journalist and television presenter. Saab is a late night news presenter on ABC News.
