Global Rhythms: Rahim AlHaj

Rahim AlHaj plays the oud at The Great Hall on Saturday, January 23, 2027, at 7:30 PM. The concert is part of the Global Rhythms series presented by Town Hall Seattle and SAMA: Music + Art, and it's offered both in person and by livestream.

AlHaj is widely considered one of the finest oud players in the world. He picked up the instrument at age nine and later graduated with honors in music composition from the Institute of Music in Baghdad, along with a degree in Arabic literature from Mustunsiriya University. His career has also been political: active in the underground revolutionary movement, he wrote protest songs opposing Saddam Hussein's regime and was imprisoned twice, once for a year and a half. Forced to leave Iraq in 1991, he settled in New Mexico and became an outspoken activist.

Since then, he's earned two Grammy nominations and collaborated with musicians across a wide range of styles, including Bill Frisell, Guy Klucevsek, Amjad Ali Khan, the Kronos Quartet, and REM. The oud is a short-necked lute common in Middle Eastern music, and AlHaj is known for bringing it into conversation with these different traditions.

The show is at The Great Hall, Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Avenue—enter on Eighth Avenue—in Seattle, 98101. Tickets are $25 to $50 on a sliding scale, and the performance starts at 7:30 PM.