New Date Set for Cairokee's Concert in Iraq

Egyptian rock band Cairokee's concert that was initially set to take place at the Roman Theater in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday (April 24), has a new date. 

The gig marking the band's first-ever concert in Iraq has been rescheduled to October 9th.

The show was postponed due to the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, which has spilt out into the entire Gulf region and beyond.

The war killed thousands and sparked an energy crisis since the initial strikes that killed ​Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Cairokee consists of lead vocalist Amir Eid, lead guitarist Sherif Hawary, drummer Tamer Hashem, keyboarder Sherif Mostafa, and bass guitarist Adam el-Alfy.

The band was founded in 2003 but rose to fame with its revolutionary music after the 2011 Revolution due to its politically inspired lyrics and protest songs released following the revolution.

They have been friends since they were children, and Hashem has been a drummer since school days. In 2003, Eid and Hawary had already started an English band, initially called “The Black Star,” and started playing covers of English songs alongside an Egyptian song entitled “Ghariba,” which was loved by their audiences.

The band’s first major hit was “Sout El Horeya,” which has millions of views on YouTube and was ranked a world record as one of the most-watched videos in the shortest period of time.

Their song “Ya El Midan”, featuring prominent Egyptian singer Aida el Ayoubi, who had previously retired in the 1990s, ranked number one on Facebook worldwide for downloads and number eight on YouTube with over half a million views on the video channel in just two days after its debut release. The Beatles and Pink Floyd mainly influenced Cairokee.