MDLBEAST Balad Beast is the first-of-its-kind music festival for Jeddah, a traditional part of Saudi Arabia. Set in the gorgeous historic district of Jeddah, more than 70 Western and regional recording artists took the UNESCO world heritage stage. Festival goers across the Middle East came with enthusiasm to dance, party and embrace social change.
MDLBeast Records COO Ahmad ‘Baloo’ Alammary said: “Balad is very rich and multicultural in its influences. For us, this event is unique in its festival design. We added a vibrant color splash on these old patterns, which created this festive vibe. We have parents, grandparents, and kids coming, and it’s beautiful that it’s multigenerational. Everyone comes here with the fear of us being overly indulgent with what we do with it, but then they realise it’s just enhancing the beauty of Balad.”
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Across four stages, guests could run around the old streets to catch incredible atmospheric sets that projected lights and smoke off the surrounding buildings. And as the Arabian sun went down, headliners started ramping up their main hits from their discography.
With headliners such as Bebe Rexha, DJ Snake, Jungle, Major Lazer Soundsystem, and iconic hip-hop stars like Wu-Tang Clan and Ty Dolla $ign, attendees could enjoy a genre-inclusive experience. On night one, Ty Dolla $ign played all his popular songs, including his fan-favorite features like ‘Nights Like This’ with Kehlani and covered Wiz Khalifa’s ‘Young, Wild & Free’, which wholeheartedly matched the vibe of the festival.
The younger generation created new memories by actively sharing their time at the festival on Snapchat while losing their teenage minds to angsty sets by Russ and upbeat dance by Bebe Rexha. This was equivalent to a Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift fangirl moment. For most of them, this was their first concert, let alone a festival.
International DJs, mainly from Europe, were able to grasp the attention of Saudi house music lovers in a new fashion. DJs like Luciano expressed their excitement to play in Jeddah and present their organic styles to this part of the world. “Music is about discovery, and the mission is all about that,” Luciano explained. Luciano’s style fuses Latin American elements with minimal house, which is something new for clubs around the world. Luciano said that this translates to what is happening in Saudi. “I love the fact that I’m at the beginning; I see a country that is opening up and a country that is thirsty for lots of things. This is a fantastic chance,” he shared.
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Some of the DJ’s noted they changed their sets after they arrived and got the feel of the festival as opposed to the playlists they used at their respective residencies.
The audience hugely responded to all the EDM and techno sets but came alive during the electronic pop band Jungle’s disco party. Jungle played mainly their newest album, ‘Volcano’. The crowd went crazy for their viral hit, ‘Back On 74’, totally absorbed in the 70’s analog sounds, keeping the crowd energetic for the following artists.
Closing out the festival, Wu-Tang Clan members performed for an hour, mixing in some of their personal tracks with group songs. Although the audience wasn’t as familiar with their music, it meant something to have such legendary artists travel to them. Despite the language barriers, the Wu-Tang Clan called out to the audience to be part of the brotherhood and the crowd erupted. Music, as we know but can always be reminded of, is the universal language. There’s no active plan as of now for the next Balad Beast, but MDLBeast has promised Saudi Arabia more music events to come.
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Words: Anna Carlson
