ABOUT AL QAHWA
The group name Al Qahwa is Arabic for “the coffee house”. It was inspired by the coffee house culture in the Middle East where people would go to hear the latest news, music, poetry and stories. The repertoire began with traditional songs from Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Then the group started adding original repertoire by members of the band.
Al Qahwa’s new recording “Weyn Allah” adds Waleed Abdulhamid (bass, vocals) and Lauren Barnett (sax, b.up vocals) to the core group. It was made with support from The Toronto Arts Council and The Ontario Arts Council. It was released in June 2023 followed by a Canadian tour with the 6 piece ensemble. “Weyn Allah” was nominated for FMO’s ACTRA RACS award for best recording artists; and CFMA’s “Oliver Schroer’s Pushing The Boundaries” award. In 2024, Al Qahwa was invited to showcase at Circulart 2024 Music Conference in Medellin, Colombia sponsored by Sunfest, Capacoa and The Canadian Embassy.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Beverly Kreller
Publicist | SPEAK Music
bev@speak-music.com | 416-922-3620
Al Qahwa would like to acknowledge support from the Ontario Arts Council Market Development grant, which gave them support to showcase and attend Circulart 2024 in Medellín, Colombia.
To order and buy physical CDs, or to buy Al Qahwa CDs or tracks digitally, go to:
alqahwa.bandcamp.com
To contact the group or for bookings send an email to
Marilyn@mgam.com (MGAM)
To support Al Qahwa, please donate to their tip jar at this link:
https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=L5HED3CL9JHHL
Or click the yellow donate button below:
UPCOMING GIGS
Come and hear the full 6 piece version of Al Qahwa in the cozy Southern Cross front room of The Tranzac – Maryem Tollar (vocals, qanun, riqq); Ernie Tollar (sax, flutes); Demetri Petsalakis (oud, guitar); Naghmeh Farahmand (percussion); Waleed Abdulhamid (bass, percussion, vocals); Lauren Barnett (b.up vocals, sax).
292 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto, ON
PWYC
Al Qahwa Quartet (Maryem Tollar, Ernie Tollar, Waleed Abdulhamid, Naghmeh Farahmand) is excited to announce that we will be official showcase artists at “Your Roots Are Showing” conference in Killarney, Ireland.
Thank you to Factor Canada for contributing to our travel funding.
Al Qahwa Quartet (Maryem Tollar, Ernie Tollar, Waleed Abdulhamid, Naghmeh Farahmand) is excited to announce that we will be official showcase artists at Folk Alliance International 2025 in Montreal Quebec. Check out our official showcase on Saturday, February 22, 2024 from 6:45 to 7:15 p.m. at The Queen Elizabeth Hotel located at 900 Rene Levesque Blvd W, Montreal – Quebec H3B 4A5, Canada – and look out for us in the after hours private showcases!