Join us for the Opening Night of the 2024 Boyne Music Festival with a very special event featuring the folk duo Gazelleband. Formed by Palestinian oud player and music therapist Reem Anbar, with writer and musician Dr Louis Brehony, Gazelleband tells the Palestinian story through music. The evening will combine music and storytelling in the impressive surroundings of Boann Distillery in Drogheda, where guests will have the opportunity to sample the many fine beverages produced on the premises.
Raised in Gaza, occupied Palestine, Reem Anbar rose to prominence as a young musician in the early 2000s, and was quickly heralded as the city's first female oud player. With an affinity for tarab - the ecstatic traditions of Arab regional music - and the Palestinian heritage of song, Reem absorbed the lessons of older generations of oud players and forged her own path as a self-taught player.
By the time she left Palestine in 2017, Reem was appearing regularly on Palestinian and Arabic TV, at concerts, and working as a music therapist and teacher in Gaza's refugee camps. She has since gone on to become an international performer, appearing regularly on stages at festivals, concert halls, universities and community events.
Reem performs with Gazelleband, as a solo artist and as a guest with other leading musicians.
Following journeys through Britain's alternative, folk and jazz scenes, Dr Louis Brehony has since dedicated his performance skills to the buzuq, a long-necked string instrument prominent in countries surrounding Palestine. He is particularly influenced by Syrian players Muhammad Abdel Karim and Mohammed Osman, and by the experiences of over 20 years researching Palestinian music.
In 2023, Louis' first book was published on AUC Press. Palestinian Music in Exile: Voices of Resistance presents the social history of Palestinian displacement through musical stories, with launches taking place internationally. Louis also directed the award-winning film Kofia: A Revolution Through Music (2020), and is widely published as a writer on Palestine, culture and politics.
Based in Manchester, Britain, Gazelleband have released two recordings, Rihla (Journey) I and II, and have appeared on international media platforms including BBC, al-Jazeera, TRT and many others.
https://gazelleband.com/home