By Ahmad Al-Hamily
KUWAIT, June 16 (KUNA) -- As a medium, music has always managed to prevail as a mean to connect people no matter what background they came from, the Hoppin' John String-band is no exception.
Playing at Abdulaziz Al-Hussain Cultural Center as part of the 14th International Music Festival, the Bluegrass band from the U.S. thrilled the audience with folk songs reflecting as the band says "the experience of American laborer, farmer, and people from all walks of life." It is hard to ignore the soulful tunes of this group whose since sound-check managed to send Goosebumps to the early crowds at the center, gravitating them towards the music.
Member of the quartet band from Brooklyn, New York, Alicia Jo Rabins told KUNA "this is our first time in Kuwait and this is our first concert ... it's our Kuwait premier and it's actually our Middle East premier." When she was asked about whether she was exposed to Arab and traditional Kuwaiti music in general, Alicia said "a little bit. I mean each of us is interested in music in general and so I play violin and the other violinist and I have both studied classical Arabic music very little just enough to know that it's really hard and really beautiful so we know a little bit more about the classical Iraqi and Kasbah Arabic music." The musician expressed her desire to listen to traditional Kuwaiti music, hoped that she would be listening to Kuwaiti music during the course of the festival.
The band opened their set with a song called "Sail away ladies ... Sail away" which encouraged the crowd to sing-along gleefully and this made a vital connection.
The Hoppin' John String-band provided the crowd also with a historical account of each song they played as part of the cultural experience.
The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, in conjunction with the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL), arranged the bands visit as part of a cultural program aimed at bringing Kuwaitis and Americans closer together through music.
The band also has a link that features a number the tunes they played during the show http://www.myspace.com/hoppinjohnstringband. (end) gta KUNA 161430 Jun 11NNNN