The Square @ ISD Dubai Kicks Off with the long-awaited Dubai Blues Festival

Heralding a New Era of Outdoor Entertainment in Dubai

Dubai, UAE – January 5, 2022 – Kicking off a new season of outdoor entertainment, The Square @ISD Dubai, the city’s new outdoor concert venue, launched today. Located in the heart of new Dubai, the venue will host an active program of live entertainment, from music festivals and concert series featuring global and regional artists to corporate and private events.

The Square is kicking off with the Dubai Blues Festival on January 27, 28 and 29, 2022 in partnership with Chillout Productions, as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival, with a lineup of the world’s most feted Blues legends:

• January 27, 2022 – Boney Fields headlining at 9:00pm and Lakeetra Knowles headlining at 10:45pm

• January 28, 2022 – Sax Gordon headlining at 9:00pm and Gisele Jackson headlining at 10:45pm

• January 29, 2022 – Big Daddy Wilson headlining at 9:00pm and Sharrie Williams at 10:45pm

Supporting acts will be announced shortly. The event is non-ticketed and access is available with online booking of garden tables.

The Square@ISD Dubai is slated to become a new favorite for concertgoers, featuring a wide selection of trendy food and drink in a relaxed outdoor atmosphere. The fully licensed and equipped plug and play venue also offers a turnkey solution for event promoters and organizers.

Hussein Murad, chief executive of The Square@ISD Dubai, said: “We are delighted to launch The Square@ISD Dubai, a new world-class hub for concerts and entertainment in Dubai, aligned with the national vision to deliver exceptional experiences to Dubai visitors and residents.”

Murad added: “The new venue will be home to a new generation of music festivals, and host a variety of live entertainment, from concerts by international and regional artists to private events, catering to Dubai’s growing and diverse entertainment needs.”

Anthony Younes, Managing Director of The Square@ISD Dubai, said: “We are excited to be part of a new outdoor concert landmark for Dubai which will bring a new class of live entertainment, with international festivals and concerts across a wide range of sensational musical genres, from Blues, Rock and Reggae to Indie, Country, Celtic and Pop!”

Younes added: “We are very excited to launch with the ‘Dubai Blues Festival’, a new festival offering, bringing the best Blues acts from around the world, some for the first time ever in Dubai over three, excitement-filled days of live music, food, drinks and fun that everyone can enjoy! We will bring our decades of successful experience to this new purpose-built destination, leaving no stone unturned, to deliver a best-in-class venue with a turnkey solution that can offer audiences, promoters, and organizers a set of distinctive and varied experiences.”

Located at ISD, Dubai Sports City, a short drive from downtown and Expo 2020 Site, with plenty of free parking around, The Square venue is set to elevate Dubai’s outdoor concert and entertainment offering.

For more information, please visit http://www.thesquaredubai.com

Dubai Blues Festival line up:

• January 27, 2022 – Boney Fields headlining at 9:00pm

Boney Fields; ‘Born to tame the stage’. “Real music by real musicians” as Prince used to say. Just like Prince, the trumpet player Boney Fields is part of this generation of African American musicians born to tame the stage. Boney Fields faithfully merges Funk and Blues, the two sides of the same Great Black Music, and he does so with the skills acquired during a career spent playing on stages all over the world.

• January 27, 2022 – Lakeetra Knowles headlining at 10:45pm 

Lakeetra Knowles; ‘Soulful blues storyteller’. A Native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Lakeetra Knowles is an American singer with a fresh and diverse sound. As a southern woman whose background stems from Arkansas, Dallas and Louisiana, she attributes her Soulful and diverse style to her upbringing in Church, but also to the Theater, where she also grew up. She went on to work as a professional actress and singer on Broadway, film, and TV for many years. “I’m a storyteller, whether I’m acting or singing”.

• January 28, 2022 – Sax Gordon headlining at 9:00pm

Sax Gordon; ‘A celebrated blues saxophonist’. “Sax” Gordon Beadle is a world-renowned blues musician. The tenor saxophonist has collaborated with artists such as Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson, Duke Robillard, Roomful of Blues, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Jay McShann, and Jimmy Witherspoon, with appearances as a soloist on albums and tours.

• January 28, 2022 – Gisele Jackson & Raphael Wressnig headlining at 10:45pm

Gisele Jackson is known as ‘Blues’ new Diva’. Today, Gisele is a cultural ambassador on a creative continuum that allows her to share and interpret her beloved music with audiences around the world – from New York to Norway, Morocco to Malaysia and from Barcelona to Beirut.

Raphael Wressnig’s Soul Gift. Raphael Wressnig confidently brings out the inherent pyrotechnic power and mightiness of the large B-3 console, and he is proud of his central role in performing what he calls “organ-heavy soul & funk”.

• January 29, 2022 – Big Daddy Wilson headlining at 9:00pm

Big Daddy; ‘An unmistakable voice’. Big Daddy Wilson award winning US bluesman that soon won praise from the iconic Eric Bibb: “As soon as you hear Big Daddy Wilson’s voice, whether speaking or singing, you hear his southern country roots. It’s a voice baptized in the river of African-American song, a voice with the power to heal”.

• January 29, 2022 – Sharrie Williams headlining at 10:45pm

Sherrie Williams; ‘Queen of Blues’. Sherrie Williams the top ‘World Artist’ American blues singer/songwriter. The traditional blues female artist has collaborated with artists such as Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Ruth Brown and is known as “Queen of Blues”.