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. In 2018, the group started adding original repertoire by members of the band and made their second recording “Cairo Moon”. In 2020, “African Routes”, inspired by the music of North Africa, was released.

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, adding Roula Said (dance, percussion and back up vocals).

Al Qahwa is on the ballot for the Grammy Awards for best folk album for our latest recording “Weyn Allah” and was nominated at the FMO Music Awards for the 2023 ACTRA RACS Award for Best Recording Artist.

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 alqahwaensemble@gmail.com

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