Adding yet another milestone to his decades-spanning career, Egyptian superstar Mohamed Ramadan made his Coachella debut on April 13, becoming the first Egyptian to hit the stage in Indio, California. Over the weekend, the 36-year-old actor-slash-singer stormed the stage with a high-energy set, reminding everyone exactly why he’s one of the region’s most followed and listened-to artists.
Live-streamed to hundreds of thousands of viewers across the globe on Youtube, the Qena-born star delivered a performance that we won’t soon forget. In a historic first for the North African country, Ramadan closed Coachella’s first weekend turning what could’ve been a solo set into a symbolic win for Arab representation in global pop culture. At a time when our music industry has recently been designated as the fastest growing around the world, the Ensay singer’s performance felt like a full-circle moment, bringing sonic arrangements that are so familiar to us to an audience that’s now forced to take notice.
While it may be the first time an Egyptian artist has headlined with a full solo set at Coachella, Ramadan is not the first to grace its stage. Others have paved the way in smaller but meaningful moments, namely R&B singer Bayou, who joined Saint Levant in last year’s edition of the music festival to perform a few of their collaborative hits.
Ramadan is expected to perform once more next weekend on the second leg of Coachella’s schedule. And if you aren’t lucky enough to be in California right now to attend the show firsthand, make sure to catch the livestream on April 20, and soak it all in from the comfort of your couch.
