<h1 style="text-align: start"><strong>Balkans to the Middle East Festival – Day 1</strong></h1><h3 style="text-align: start"><strong><span style="color: rgb(187, 2, 9)">Sunday, April 20 2025 at 6:30 PM</span></strong></h3><p style="text-align: start"></p><h2>Doors: 6:30 PM</h2><h3><strong>Balkans to the Middle East Festival – Day 1: Mona Miari &amp; NEESAN</strong></h3><p>The <em>Balkans to the Middle East Festival</em> begins with two captivating sets exploring the depth and beauty of Middle Eastern music.</p><h2>Mona Miari : 7PM</h2><p>✨ <strong>Mona Miari</strong> opens the night with her heartfelt voice and poetic songwriting, blending modern and traditional Palestinian influences into a soul-stirring performance.</p><h2>NEESAN : 9PM</h2><p>✨ ✨ Next, <strong>NEESAN</strong>, the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist April Centrone, takes the stage with their evocative blend of Arabic psych rock and cinematic textures. Described as the new “Arabic Khruangbin,” NEESAN crafts a nostalgic soundscape of <em>Levant Noir</em>, channeling the spirit of 1970s Lebanon through hypnotic rhythms, timeless melodies, and deep emotional resonance.</p><p></p><h1 style="text-align: start"><strong>Balkans to the Middle East Festival – Day 2</strong></h1><h3 style="text-align: start"><strong><span style="color: rgb(187, 2, 9)">Tuesday, April 22 2025 at 6:30 PM</span></strong></h3><p style="text-align: start"></p><hr><h2 style="text-align: start">Doors: 6:30 PM</h2><h3 style="text-align: start"><strong>Balkans to the Middle East Festival – Day 2: Barakka &amp; Yallah Yallah</strong></h3><p style="text-align: start">Get ready for an electrifying night of rock, folk, and dance beats at <em>Balkans to the Middle East</em>!</p><h2 style="text-align: start">Barakka : 7 PM</h2><p style="text-align: start">🔥 <strong>Barakka</strong> kicks off the evening with their high-energy fusion of Anatolian folk, Turkish rock, and Western influences, bringing a dynamic performance that bridges continents.</p><h2 style="text-align: start">Yallah Yallah : 9 PM</h2><p style="text-align: start">🔥 Closing the night, guitarists Amit Peled of Habbina Habbina and Segev Harosh join forces to give us: <strong>Yallah Yallah</strong>, a homage to ’80s drum machine-based, Middle Eastern pop. The two guitarists capturing the harmonized guitar parts on those classic records and adding keyboards, live percussion, and an Alesis SR-16 drum machine, omnipresent in the original ’80s recordings.</p><p></p><h1 style="text-align: start"><strong>Balkans to the Middle East Festival – Day 3</strong></h1><h3 style="text-align: start"><strong><span style="color: rgb(187, 2, 9)">Wednesday, April 23 2025 at 6:30 PM</span></strong><br>Doors: 6:30 PM</h3><h3 style="text-align: start"><strong>Balkans to the Middle East Festival – Day 3: Ahmed Moneka &amp; NY Gypsy All Stars</strong></h3><p style="text-align: start">Experience a night of passion, groove, and cross-cultural musical storytelling.</p><h2 style="text-align: start">Ahmed Moneka: 7PM</h2><p style="text-align: start">🎶 <strong>Ahmed Moneka</strong> opens the night, blending Iraqi maqam, jazz, and Afro-Iraqi rhythms to deliver a powerful, emotionally rich performance that bridges cultures and histories.</p><h2 style="text-align: start">NY Gypsy All-Stars : 9PM</h2><p style="text-align: start">🎶 Then, the world-class <strong>NY Gypsy All Stars</strong> take the stage with their signature blend of Balkan, Turkish, and jazz influences, turning tradition into an exhilarating jam session!</p><h1><br><strong>Balkans to the Middle East Festival – Day 4</strong></h1><h1><strong><span style="color: rgb(187, 2, 9)">Thursday, April 24 2025 at 6:30 PM</span></strong></h1><h2 style="text-align: start">Doors: 6:30 PM</h2><h3 style="text-align: start"><strong>Balkans to the Middle East Festival – Day 4: Romashka &amp; Zlatne Uste</strong></h3><p style="text-align: start">The grand finale of <em>Balkans to the Middle East</em> is a high-energy celebration of Balkan and Eastern European sounds!</p><h2 style="text-align: start">Romashka: 7PM</h2><p style="text-align: start">🎺 <strong>Romashka</strong> opens the evening with their infectious mix of Russian, Roma, and Eastern European folk, bringing a wild, dance-fueled performance.</p><h2 style="text-align: start">Zlatne Uste : 9PM</h2><p style="text-align: start">🎺 Then, <strong>Zlatne Uste</strong>, one of the premier Balkan brass bands in the U.S., takes over with their fiery horns and electrifying rhythms, keeping the party going late into the night!</p>