otfi Bouchnak delighted his fans at the Carthage International Festival on Saturday evening (August 10th), performing new numbers and old classics that Tunisian fans know by heart.
The show opened with the Tunisian singer sharing the stage with young musicians, some of whom hold PhDs in music.
"I wanted to discover young musicians nobody knows," said Bouchnak. "This is a new experience, and it's a deliberate choice to open the field for young people to relate with original art and mawaweel [vocal improvisation]."
The singer alternated between old fan favourites such as "Nassaya" ("Forgetful") and newer songs like "nebda alhekaya keif kol hekaya" ("I will start this story just like all stories") and "youm habeitak yom miladi" ("I was born the day I fell in love with you").
He also performed some traditional Arab songs, such as "cinema" and "reitak ma nearef wein" ("I cannot remember where I saw you"), which fans sang along with him. He also performed "sharie kaanu jeneina" ("a street like a garden").
Bouchnak then performed the "altransistor" mawwal by the late Cheik Imam, followed by the song "kol ma feik habibi" ("Everything about you").
"I want to offer my Tunisian and Arab audiences something new so that they may not feel tired of Lotfi Bouchnak," the entertainer told reporters before the show. He said that the Saturday concert carried a message of love, in all its meaning, to all people, and he emphasised that artists have an important role in spreading the values of tolerance and peace.
The audience spanned both generations and geography. Old and young came to see Lotfi sing, while Tunisians from across the country and abroad were in attendance at the ancient archaeological marvel that is the Carthage theatre.
Perfection is something that Bouchnak works hard to create on stage, he said. Speaking to journalists on August 6th, he said he puts great time and effort into preparing his songs. He pays close attention to every detail, working on hard on them from conception to performance to distribution.
During the concert, Bouchnak performed "ya nas noor alshams ghab ani" ("The sunlight shied away from me"), a song written for him by poet and art critic Ali Ouerteni, which met with applause.
Bouchnak has a long history of collaborating with other artists and writers. His work with poet Adam Fathi, a famous songwriter who has written the lyrics to many popular songs in Tunisia and the Arab world was enormously successful.
Most fans departed happily from Carthage, expressing joy at seeing the Tunisian artist perform live.
"I would have liked to listen to more Tunisian songs," said one female fan. "But the show was interesting, and it takes us away a bit from the Middle Eastern influence and the fast Lebanese songs that have become common in our festivals."
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