When Bahraini bard Mahmood Alhayki, who recently became the only Bahraini to perform at a top Armenian music festival, sings with a voice that can warm the coldest of nights and light up the darkest of moments, every note is layered with a story of overcoming challenges to become the best version of oneself.
The 32-year-old singer and songwriter recently performed at the fourth edition of Side by Side – an international inclusive music art festival, held from December 1 to 3 in Yerevan, Armenia.
“I was incredibly touched and proud to be invited for the second time to perform at this festival which promotes the talents of people with disabilities,” Mahmood, who grew up in Muharraq and now works at the Hilton Garden Inn Bahrain Bay, told GulfWeekly.
“I was chosen to represent Bahrain at this festival and I worked with my friend in Ghana Signechor Vybez to create a special song for the occasion.”
Mahmood sang the original Just Shine at the festival, which embodies his life message that ‘God created everyone for a reason’.
“This song is to give people with disabilities, as well as everyone else, a message of hope, and to tell them that they are here for a purpose, and they must find it,” he added.
The festival was organised with the support of the Armenian Education, Science, Culture and Sports ministry, under the patronage of the country’s Prime Minister Anna Hakobyan.
More than 150 participants from Russia, Georgia and Armenia attended the festival alongside Mahmood at the Tumanyan State Puppet Theatre.
Mahmood sang at the gala concert of the festival on December 3, which coincided with the International Day of Disabled Persons declared by the UN General Assembly.
His trip to Armenia was supported by the Hilton Garden Inn Bahrain Bay as well as the Bahrain Institute for People with Disabilities.
“The main goal of the day was to draw the public’s attention to the problems of people with disabilities, as well as to show the importance of involving people with special abilities in cultural life,” organisers said in a statement.
“At the gala concert, children, teenagers and adults with special abilities performed musical and vocal performances.
“Famous musicians, musical groups and individual performers of the Armenian music scene performed side by side with the children on the stage.”
This was Mahmood’s second appearance at the festival, after he performed another original, Don’t Despair, in 2022.
“My music has always been about overcoming whatever challenges one faces, and I want to highlight the contributions that people with disabilities can make, despite their limitations,” he added.
Having been born with a number of physical disabilities, Mahmood has been in and out of medical facilities and physiotherapy for much of his life.
But he did not let that get in his way when he started singing at the age of 14. Since then, he has performed mostly in Arabic, with a deep resounding and spellbinding voice.
He is already busy working on his song for next year’s festival, to which he has been invited again, as he continues to work on more originals.
For more details, follow @mah_alhaiki on Instagram.
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