RIYADH, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Breaking out of the previously clandestine contemporary music scene of Saudi Arabia, Nourah Alammary, Saudi singer with a day job as brand strategist, performed her first public concert in Riyadh in January, captivating audience at a music festival.
The event marked the first time since local musicians were permitted to perform at a public venue in the kingdom thanks to Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority that has started to issue licenses for musicians to play in public spaces.
Riyadh is no stranger to the Saudi music scene, but performances were usually restricted to compounds, private homes and underground venues whose locations were kept under wraps until the day of the performance. The events were neither publicized, nor legal.
The kingdom's second largest city, Jeddah, on the other hand, has traditionally taken a more progressive stance towards local talent in the public domain, but music events were still staged clandestinely.
Alammary, in her early 30s, has the unique distinction of defying all odds to embark on an artistic career in Saudi Arabia.
Prior to her appearance at the music festival, Seven Moons, she had paired up with her friend, Sean Elliot Carey, U.S. musician, vocalist and composer, who has lived in Saudi Arabia for the past six years. The duo played in compounds and homes of family members and friends in Riyadh.
Last April, the musical partners performed at an open-mic night at a large wedding banquet in Riyadh. In a recent interview, Alammary recalled how excited and nervous she was.
"Carey encouraged me to pursue my passion of singing ... He understands me when I talk about music even though I don't speak in musical terms. We have a great chemistry and that allows us to work together to produce good music," Alammary said.
She added that Carey "has also been great to support and encourage me to get up on stage and has, in fact, pushed me to perform publicly.''
Alammary surprised her family and friends last month in an intimate setting where she and Carey showcased a series of covers of popular English songs.
"My family members have been my biggest supporters and were super excited by my debut," Alammary said.
"On Jan. 2, I performed in front of my family members for the first time and their profound support and positive reaction gave me tears of joy. It really helped fuel my ambition to perform publicly," she added.
"It all happened when a friend of mine, a DJ based here, knew that the organizer of a creative cultural space called Seven Moons was looking for musical talents and they invited me. It was the first time for me to perform publicly outside of a compound or an underground scene," Alammary said.
Alammary's first live public performance was exciting because it was not an underground event hidden from public view. Instead, it took place in front of the Saudi audience, a crowd that was used to listening to Arabic music.
"It is truly a great moment when your dream is finally realized," she continued. "I was definitely worried about how people would view singers, but I saw that a growing number of Saudi teens were embracing their musical talent and just doing it. It also helped me get over some of these fears."
Alammary expects a bright future for Saudi music scene. "I think we are going to have an abundance of spaces for artists," she said.
Saudi audience has recently been treated with performances by many international stars such as the Greek pianist Yanni, who held a series of concerts in the kingdom in 2017 that opened the long-locked doors to public musical performances in the country.
Mariah Carey was the latest major international artist to perform in Saudi. Since last December, renowned musicians like Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and French violinist Renaud Capucon have also performed in the country.
"It's part of the entertainment and push for tourism, of course, but it also serves to inspire local artists as they witness these well-known artists' live shows instead of on the radio or the Internet," Alammary added.
