Ahla friends,
April is Arab American Heritage Month, and New York, being New York, is not being subtle about it.
The city is blooming. Concerts, exhibitions, film screenings, conferences, parties, conversations, our community is everywhere this month. And we need it. Because the world outside is heavy. Lebanon, Iran, Palestine, it's a lot to carry, and many of you are carrying it while also carrying the burden of the diaspora life..
Culture won't fix any of it. But it holds us, reminds us who we are, and keeps us connected to each other, and right now that matters more than we can say.
So: we currently have over 85 events for April on the website with literally every category and vibe you can think of, and we're adding more every single day. Filter by category, neighborhood, and date, and add anything directly to your calendar so nothing slips through the cracks. No screenshots, no forgotten plans.
The community has also been busy, new music dropping, media launches worth paying attention to, people doing things that deserve more than a group chat forward. We're spotlighting some of it below, and we will be sharing more every week.
Samar
THE SHORTLIST
Handpicked events worth showing up for
COMEDY
Ismael Loutfi
April 2d-26th
Soho Playhouse, Soho
What if your dad's deepest devotion was to God, and your deepest devotion was to making fun of him for it? Ismael Loutfi's Heavenly Baba is a one-hour comedic memoir, a roast, a love letter, and an identity reckoning moment. Funny as hell. Surprisingly moving. A great time guaranteed.
COMEDY
Function
April 2d-26th
Soho Playhouse, Soho
So much cool, so much mystery, so much pull around this series. An Arab, queer-rooted party that sidesteps the usual tropes. Vey fresh, Very elusive, and Very New York. Sharp, cool, New York. I feel that Im just thrwoing words right now but just check their Instagram here
POP-UP
Sabah Elkhair Pop-up
Sat April 4d, 7-10pm
Kotn, LES
Sarah Elawad is bringing her label Sabah Elkhair to NYC for its very first pop-up and art show, and she wants you to show up in your pajamas, pillow in hand. Very cool vibes, all around, just checkout their website.
Free event
SPIRITUALITY
SufiCorner: Female Spirituality in Islam
Sat April 4d, 12-4pm
Madison Sq Tower, Gramercy
Five scholars walk into a room to talk about love, knowledge, and spiritual agency in Islam and you're invited. SufiCorner's brings together a genuinely remarkable lineup of thinkers that are all women, educated and spiritual. Virtual access available.
MUSIC-SPIRITUALITY
Ustad Nasseruddin & The Saami Brothers
Sun April 5th at 8pm
Xanadu, Bushwick
Not strictly a SWANA event, but it's been gaining traction with the community, Mamdani and his wife attending didn’t hurt. Ustad Naseeruddin Saami carries a lineage tracing back to the literal founder of Khayal, performing alongside the Saami Brothers in a single-sitting evening of Khayal (classical North Indian vocal improvisation) and Qawwali (Sufi devotional music designed to undo you a little). Expect music, improv and transcendance.
MUSIC
Bad L’Bluz ft Rasha Nahas
Fri March 27th at 8pm
Joe’s pub, East Village
Bab L'Bluz are making their way over from France, a Franco-Moroccan band whose sound has no business being this cohesive: psychedelic rock tangled up with traditional Gnawa and Hassani, all filtered through 60s and 70s analog warmth. And if that weren't enough, Lebanese artist Rasha Nahas joins as special guest, which is it’s own reason to show up.
Fun fact: that image of Yousra Mansour, jewelry mask, guitar in hand, has become the reference (I’ve seen so often in the last year). It’s the one so many of us (myself included) end up pulling from Pinterest when we need a visual to project “cool.”
COMEDY
New Pants ft Elassal, Weinberg and Wakim
Fri March 27th at 8pm
The Secret Comedy Club, East Village
Another edition of New Pants with Emil Wakim (SNL), Gavin Matts (Bill Burr Presents), Ahmed Weinberg (Hacks), and Malik Elassal (Adults). I know I’ve featured them already, but honestly — where else are you getting this level of talent for $15 in NYC? A sandwich at Pret is $20.
THE FREE ONE
One free event that got us excited
COMMUNITY
Hala Alyan
Thur April 2d, 6-8pm
Abrons Arts Center, Williamsburg
Gather around an actual fire outside Abrons Arts Center with author and poet Hala Alyan, think guided meditation, generative writing, sharing, and a reading of her acclaimed work. Hosted by the Kinstillatory Fire, a nine-year-running series that’s all about Indigenous, feminist, and gender-expansive care. Come as you are. Leave feeling held and nourished by Hala’s words and the community’s love.
— Want to explore more events? —
menna website
COMMUNITY DISPATCH
People, projects, and news from across the community
Fouad Of Nazareth and His Punk-Pop Album
Fouad Dakwar is a Palestinian-American writer-composer who took the messiest, most unresolvable parts of growing up between worlds: divorce, identity, the Holy Land, summer camp of all places, and turned it into a pop-punk musical. Very Arab of him. Very genius of him.
Fouad of Nazareth has been years in the making, every single step has been backed and supported by prestigious organizations (that I do not know but they sound fancy), and every single show has sold out, Joe's Pub, Ars Nova, you name it (that I know). The kind of quiet accumulation that tells you something real is happening. And now, a full concept album. Twelve original songs, recorded at the legendary Power Station at Berklee NYC. Oh, and did I mention Sahar Milani is part of the cast? Girl crush very much intact, along with other very talented peeps.
What I find particularly brilliant about Fouad is his refusal to reach for the expected. No dabke, no tatreez, no symbolism, in a world where everyone seems to be appropriating Palestinian and Arab culture at large, here's a Palestinian artist doing the reverse. He chose pop-punk: a form that started as British working-class rebellion, got Americanized into suburban teenage angst, and is now being claimed by a Palestinian New Yorker to talk about displacement and identity.
Subversive. Ironic. Brilliant.
Stream the album. Then go see the show when it comes. You'll want to say you were early
COMMUNITY DISPATCH
People, projects, and news from across the community
The Key: An Unbalanced Magazine, and That’s The Point
How many times have you read a piece about Palestine in a mainstream publication and felt that familiar tightening — the false balance, the careful hedging, the endless "complexity"? Sara Yasin got tired of it too. The difference is she did something about it.
The Key is a new online magazine launched by Yasin, veteran journalist, former BuzzFeed News and LA Times editor, Palestinian American, in partnership with PalFest. Its premise is almost disarmingly simple: Palestine is worth covering unapologetically, as the core issue at the heart of the modern world.
The magazine it's not trying to convince anyone of anything, it's skipping the exhausting "humanizing Palestinians" mandate that has defined so much coverage and going straight to the work itself: essays, poetry, media criticism, profiles.
Early days still, but worth keeping an eye on.
Subscription starts at $2 a month, the door is wide open.
Self Funded. No Compromise
Allowing us to stay editorially independent and guided only by our values and the community we serve. If our work resonates with you and you’d like to support it, you can do so through the link below.
As always, thank you for being here.
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— Menna curates cultural content and events for informational purposes only. Event details are subject to change—
