The Algerian Rai star Cheb Khaled performed a concert last Sunday in Washington before a large audience of the Arab community in the US and American citizens who love the roaring Rai music and are familiar with it.
The Rai King will perform another concert in New York Friday evening.
Artist Simon Shahin who played the fiddle and lute participated in the concert but although he faced difficulty at the beginning in convincing the audience to get seated and listen to him he managed to do so in the end.
The American security men attempted to deter Khaled’s admirers from reaching the stage to touch or dance with the singer. It was the first time for an Algerian singer to sing in Washington before an Arab and an American audience.
The American audience appreciated the jazz intervals between the songs particularly Nsi Nsi, Didi and Aysha which they understood partly in French.
The performance of the singer sparked the audience’s enthusiasm as he turned them into a dancing crowd that did not calm down until the music stopped and it was time to go home.
Khaled managed to make the heterogeneous Arab American community dance at one cadence without understanding any statement. But the audience appeared unified and harmonious despite the fact that very few of the songs’ words were understandable.
However, the concert was scheduled for last September but was postponed due to September 11 attacks in Washington and New York -- Albawaba.com
