Bahrain’s music reflects the islands’ long maritime history, with Gulf traditions such as sawt joining pearl-diving songs, percussion, dance, and a modern popular scene.
The music of Bahrain is part of the pan-Gulf khaleeji folk traditions. It is also known (alongside Kuwait) for sawt music, a bluesy genre influenced by African, Indian and Persian music. Sultan Hamid, Ali Bahar and Khalid al Shaikh (a singer and oudplayer) are among the most popular musicians from Bahrain.[1]
Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of Bahrain” article.
The Ghalali group’s performance of fan al-sawt presents one of Bahrain’s defining urban Gulf traditions through voice, oud, percussion, and communal dance.
Bahraini singer and composer Khalid Al Sheikh represents the country’s modern Arabic song tradition in “Nahr Al Ahzan.”