Lebanese Band Cancels Gig With Chili Peppers in Beirut
Lebanese band Mashrou Leila has pulled out of opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who are due to play in Tel Aviv on Sept. 10, in solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Patrick Galey writes that the gig would have meant huge exposure for the band and all Lebanese alternative music, and the decision has set social media in the region ablaze.
BEIRUT — When Lebanese band Mashrou Leila agreed to open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers during the Beirut leg of their world tour, they could scarcely have dreamed of upstaging the main event.
But after the band announced via Twitter Wednesday morning that they had pulled out of this week’s concert, there was only one group name on the lips of the region’s alternative music fans.
Mashrou Leila had come under fire from Lebanese fans for agreeing to support the Chili Peppers, who are due to play a gig in Tel Aviv on September 10. Lebanon is a base for many Israeli boycott organizations and the band was encouraged to pull out in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Karim Ghattas, Mashrou Leila’s manager, told Al-Monitor that the decision to withdraw had been tough to make.
