Nai Barghouti

Nai Barghouti is an award-winning Palestinian singer, composer, and flutist.

From her first concerts in Ramallah and Cairo at the age of 14 through her packed concerts at the London Jazz Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, the United Nations in New York, and in renowned theaters in Paris, Washington, Toronto, Montreal, Istanbul, Amsterdam, London, Oslo, Casablanca, Rabat, Tunis, Riyadh, Kuwait, and Beirut, the Jerusalem-born artist has been praised as a “classical diva” and an “exceptional virtuosa.”

Nai’s virtuosity, critics have said, evokes vocal qualities of three leading Arab divas — Asmahan’s velvety depth, Umm Kulthoum’s powerful projection, range and control, and Fairouz’s angelic and deeply emotive head resonance. Indeed, these three legendary Arab singers, together with the composers Rahbani Brothers, Ziad Rahbani, Sayed Darwish, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and Zakaria Ahmad, were the main influences on Nai as a young girl learning music and singing.

In her studies, Nai explored the nexus between Arabic Tarab music and jazz, eventually inventing her own unique vocal technique — NaiStrumentation. This technique was featured in many of her works, including her highly acclaimed performance at the prestigious A COLORS SHOW in Berlin in 2024.

Most recently, Nai was featured at the major sold-out benefit event held at the OVO Arena Wembley in London, organized by Brian Eno and featuring performances, speeches, and appearances from over 150 artists, actors, and activists, including Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, Bastille, Florence Pugh, Riz Ahmed, Benedict Cumberbatch, Louis Theroux, James Blake, Paloma Faith, Jamie xx, PinkPantheress, and Palestinian artists such as Sama’ Abdulhadi, Saint Levant, and Elyanna, as well as a montage of video messages that included actor Cillian Murphy and pop star Billie Eilish.

Following the concert, Nai co-arranged/produced and was featured on a charity single titled Lullaby (a reimagining of the traditional Palestinian folk song Yamma Mwel el Hawa) alongside artists including Leigh-Anne, Celeste, Bastille’s Dan Smith, Brian Eno, and others. The single aimed for the UK Christmas Number 1 spot to raise funds for Choose Love.

Presented by Art Stage