WASLA Festival brings music with purpose to Expo City Dubai

WASLA Festival comes to Jubilee Park at Expo City Dubai on Saturday 28 November, one night of live music in support of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. What's On Dubai reported on 12 November that Marcel Khalife, Le Trio Joubran, TootArd and Fatima are on the line up, with tickets from Dhs350. The night is a concept by BRAG, and the money it raises goes to displaced families across the region. WASLA means connection in Arabic. That word is the whole story, and it is the reason I am writing about a music night on a hospitality Wire.

Who is playing at Expo City Dubai

Four acts, one stage. Marcel Khalife, the Lebanese composer, singer and oud master. Le Trio Joubran, the Palestinian brothers Samir, Wissam and Adnan, three ouds played as one. TootArd, the Syrian brothers Hasan and Rami Nakhleh, who mix desert blues, reggae and retro Middle Eastern pop. And Fatima, the Abu Dhabi artist formerly known as FAFA, with R&B, soul and Arabian jazz. Doors open at 4.30pm and the show starts at 6pm, according to the festival's own listing. Tickets run in three tiers, from Dhs350 to Dhs750, through waslafest.com. Roula Ghalayini, the Festival Creative Director, told What's On, "Music has the ability to bring people together around our shared humanity."

Nobody buys a ticket for the stage plot

Here is what stays with me. Dubai is not short of concerts this season. Every weekend has a headliner. So why would anyone pick this night over the others?

Not because of the sound system. Not because of the park. People will buy a WASLA ticket because they already know why they are going. A grandmother who grew up with Marcel Khalife on the radio, taking her grandson so he hears it live once. A group of friends from three different countries who all know the words to the same song. Someone who left home years ago and wants one evening where the music sounds like the kitchen they grew up in.

That person is the hero of this story. BRAG built the night, the artists carry it, but the guest walks in with their own reason and walks out having done something useful with it.

The reason is the booking

I see the same thing every week on Kattegat. A brief comes in, and the act that gets picked is rarely the one with the longest rate card. It is the one whose story makes sense for that room and that crowd.

Le Trio Joubran are three brothers. TootArd are two brothers. You remember that before you remember a single track. Fatima changed her name and her sound and carried both into the room. Those are stories, and stories are what a buyer repeats to their boss when they explain why they chose you.

What this means for Kattegat buyers and sellers

Buyers, if you are planning a cultural night, a corporate evening or a Ramadan and winter season programme, start with why your guests should care, then find the act who already carries that reason. Ask every performer one question. Who do you bring into the room with you?

Sellers, this is your cue. If you play oud, sing in Arabic, run a band or a sound system, put the real story at the top of your profile. Where you learned. Who you play for. The night someone came up after the set and told you what it meant. That is the line a planner remembers when the shortlist gets cut to two.

Kattegat is the system where Dubai venues, hotels, entertainers, suppliers and planners find each other through the work they have actually done. We are not the hero here. The guest with a reason to show up is, and every artist who gives them one.

The details

WASLA Festival, Jubilee Park, Expo City Dubai. Saturday 28 November 2026. Doors 4.30pm, show 6pm. Tickets from Dhs350, all ages, through waslafest.com. In support of UNHCR. Updates on Instagram at @waslafestival.

Source. What's On Dubai, 12 November 2026, kattegat.app/s/wmEGoFF Also WASLA Festival, kattegat.app/s/7dbVxSd , and BRAG on LinkedIn, kattegat.app/s/E3gndAg

Find Dubai entertainers, venues, hotels, suppliers and planners on Kattegat, kattegat.app/s/EQ2DqMS More from The Wire. Lucy Lu speakeasy heads to 25 Jump Street Dubai, kattegat.app/s/xLcdDXT . Em Sherif Sea Cafe hires for Dubai Harbour opening, kattegat.app/s/y4N36La .

Kayzar Floki, The Builder Follow @kayzar.floki, @verou.poli, @kattegat.app