Sinno was Mashrou Leila s lead singer is openly gay to a Lebanese father who had lived in the United States and a Jordanian mother who had lived between Morocco and Rome. Over a thousand people attended the show while hundreds waited in droves at the venue's entrance in waiting.
Mashrou' Leila issued a statement earlier this month saying they "respected all religions and their symbols", and were saddened by "the distortion of the lyrics of some of our songs". The band had been expected to hold a press conference to issue a formal apology so the concert could go ahead, under an agreement between the Byblos festival and Lebanese authorities.
Mashrou' Leila has often played in Lebanon since forming in while its members were still students at the American University of Beirut. Total length:.
Critics on social media also threatened to attack the concert if the Lebanese band went ahead with the performance. Mashrou' Leila's members enjoy the wordplay and ambiguity surrounding their band's name. He attended an American school and graduated "not knowing how to properly speak Arabic", mostly learning Arabic as he wrote songs.
Al Akhbar, Beirut. The band formed in BeirutLebanon in as a music workshop at the American University of Beirut. Times News Platforms. Religious groups in Lebanon have been at the forefront of attempts to censor and block artistic and cultural events that they deem offensive to religious sensibilities.
Lebanon portal Music portal. BeirutLebanon.
Arab News. The band formed in Beirut , Lebanon in as a music workshop at the American University of Beirut. July 30, Lebanese singer Marcel Khalife who was himself the target of a libel campaign earlier voiced his support and called his followers to rally behind the band. During the event, Mashrou' Leila proved to be the only band that composed and performed their original compositions.
It was described as "an arresting, heady mixture of retro-Beirut music — the signature sound being Haig Papazian's razor-sharp violin".