Wust el Balad's First Week in the Midwest

By Shigeyo Henriquez

September 13th. Ken and I waited for Wust el Balad’s arrival at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. They were scheduled to arrive at 6:30 p.m. We waited and waited… It was almost 9 p.m. Where were they?

Ken checked the gates back and forth. It was past 9:30 p.m. when they finally came out of the frosted double glass door. “Omar!” Ken shouted. He had met Omar 6 months ago in New Orleans and recognized him right away.

I had never met the band. I had seen the pictures, but had no knowledge of who they were or what they were like. All men from Egypt. I was anxious, and at the same time a bit intimidated. Some of them were tall, towering over me. I’m only 5’2” and three of the guys are over 6’ tall. But as the days went by, these thoughts completely disappeared.

On the second day, we took care of a lot of business – going to the bank, checking the equipment, meeting to discuss the tour. The third day we moved to the hotel in downtown Chicago and I took them to a few music stores. They were like kids in a candy store. I had to pull them away.

On September 16th we met Saleem Muhammad at IMAN, Inner-City Muslim Action Network, on the south side of Chicago. He introduced us to the staff, showed us the office, and discussed their programs and the work they do with the community.

Then, we drove to Lindblom High School, a Chicago public high school, where they had their first workshop. This was the first time I saw how talented these men are as musicians. The high school students got involved in playing the rhythms, and they loved their music, applauding loudly after each song. Clearly, they all enjoyed the workshop, and so did Wust el Balad.

Saturday, Sept 17th. We drove to International House at the University of Chicago where we spent all day setting up instruments for the concert and sound checking. The concert began at 7 p.m. The first ensemble featured Pakistani music, the second ensemble, Sudanese, then Wust el Balad came on the stage. The house was packed. There were so many Egyptians in the audience – and many of them knew the songs and sang along.

I received this comment from my friend, Nancy, who attended the concert:

“They performed at the International House and it truly felt like the International House last night. They saved the best for last. After 2 other interesting groups finished, Wust El Balad came on. They were spectacular. I cried…when they played the song written during the revolutionary movement to free Egypt, and the audience joined in singing to a standing ovation. There was spontaneous dancing and thunderous applause during each song.”

They definitely rocked the house.

Performance at International House, University of Chicago