Soulful Sufi Qawwali music from Zahir Abbas Qawal at Old Stoke Library.
Zahir Abbas brings Qawwali to Old Stoke Library on Friday 4 December, with the music running from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. It's a full evening of Sufi Qawwali, so if you're heading along, you'll want to clear your whole night for it rather than just popping in for an hour.
For those who aren't familiar, Qawwali is the devotional music of the Sufi tradition, and it's built around the voice. It's not a background thing; it's a performance that grows in intensity as it goes, with the singing taking centre stage. Zahir Abbas is a Qawwali vocalist, and he's known for delivering soulful Sufi performances that stay rooted in centuries of musical tradition. That's the core of what he does: taking a style with deep historical roots and bringing it into a live setting here in Stoke.
It's a long set—four hours from start to finish—which gives the music plenty of room to build. Qawwali often starts slow and steady, then gathers speed and energy as the night goes on, so the full length is part of the experience. If you've never heard it live, it's a good one to see in person rather than just on a record, because so much of it is about the energy in the room.
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Tickets are ÂŁ20, and you can get yours through Skiddle. The night runs from 6:00pm to 10:00pm at Old Stoke Library, so you've got a full evening of music to settle into.
