The Star's critics ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARTIN HALL, MICHAL BONCZA, ANGUS REID reviews Holy Cow, One to One: John and Yoko, King of Kings, Panda Bear in Africa
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Impossible not to feel invigorated
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PATRICK JONES recommends a vital anthology from Afghan and Iranian poets where the political and personal fuse into witness-bearing and manifesto-making
WILL STONE is impressed by Hania Rani who is already making a name for herself in the male-dominated world of modern classical music
MIK SABIERS enjoys the theatrical feminist six piece who have a lot of fun that the audience feeds off as the set rolls on
New releases from Ibex Band, Lucy Dacus, and Various Artists
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by characters so un-nuanced as to be unreal, a stereotypical plot and a conceptual vampire
WILL STONE appreciates an artist who can swerve from industrial noise to clubby trance pop without missing a step
Omar Souleyman
Jazz Cafe
A SINGLE A-board sits outside the Jazz Cafe emblazoned with the words Global Dance Icon — Omar Souleyman. More of a nod to the dry humour of this most beloved of Syrian singers than a sign of an ego-tripping diva, though Souleyman truly has become something of a cult sensation.
Hailing from humble origins in the village of Ra’s al-’Ayn near the Syria–Turkey border, he began as a part-time singer at weddings where the dabke is performed, a traditional folk music performed during line-dances and popular on celebratory occasions.
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