Music

Mashrou' Leila Clashed with Who Killed Bruce Lee

Red Bull SoundClash Sets a Musical Precedent in Lebanon
Written by Red Bull
3 min readPublished on
Red Bull SoundClash Lebanon

Red Bull SoundClash Lebanon

© [unknown]

In front of 3,000 hypnotized spectators, gathered at Forum De Beyrouth, Red Bull SoundClash witnessed the fiercest, yet civil, clash of sounds. The hyped-up event saw Mashrou’ Leila face Who Killed Bruce Lee in a unique encounter under one roof.
The two bands performed different genres of electrifying music that tantalized the crowd, who started flocking in as of 8pm.
Previously hosted in cities like Amsterdam, Sydney, Tokyo, Budapest, Los Angeles, Boston, Moscow, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Prague, Athens, Istanbul, Warsaw, and recently Cairo, the concept gained a large appeal among music and culture fans across the globe.
Nemr Abou Nassar

Nemr Abou Nassar

© [unknown]

The show featured Jade, who kept the crowd on their toes with his mesmerizing tunes, and was animated by Lebanese stand-up comedian Nemr Abou Nassar, who raised the challenge to new levels. Abou Nassar commented by saying:
The event was an exercise in the futility of mere mortals in measuring up to the level of perfection set on stage. And there were also two bands.
The show’s concept originated in Jamaica, where reggae and dub musicians have been jamming together as well as challenging each other in spontaneous shows in bars, clubs, and open market places. Red Bull picked up the tradition and created a new live music show format that targets music lovers everywhere.
Red Bull SoundClash Lebanon

Red Bull SoundClash Lebanon

© [unknown]

Mashrou’ Leila, a five-member band born of a nocturnal encounter at the American University of Beirut in 2008, fuses the craftiness of a music workshop with the punch of stadium rock. With their distinct approach to storytelling and orchestration, they have crafted some of the most melancholic ballads and raucous anthems in contemporary alternative Arabic music.
Who Killed Bruce Lee

Who Killed Bruce Lee

© [unknown]

Established in 2010, Who Killed Bruce Lee’s band members got together and created one of the tightest, musically rich, and innovative groups in Lebanon’s local music scene. Playing the best of indie, electro, rock n’ roll, and more, they provided audiences with a chance to sing along, dance and get wild as they blasted out those tunes loud and strong.
Wassim Bou Malham from Who Killed Bruce Lee said:
Red Bull SoundClash was huge, it was the start of a grand wave that has washed in a new era in our country’s musical scene… We love Mashrou’ Leila and are humbled by how great this band is… and yes, we killed everybody that was there with our laser nun-chucks.
The event kicked off with The Warm-up, where each band performed three songs of its repertoire, followed by The Cover, where both bands covered the same song with their own personal style. The bands then finished the second half of a song started by the opposing band in The Takeover. The event culminated in The Clash, where Mashrou’ Leila and Who Killed Bruce Lee performed their own songs in three different styles. Franco-Moroccan singer Hindi Zahra and Lebanese Maestro Harout Fazlian were the event’s surprise, performing as wild cards for Mashrou’ Leila and Who Killed Bruce Lee, respectively.
Red Bull SoundClash aims at supporting local talents, by shedding light on the different culture scenes, empowering underground music and artists.

Part of this story

Red Bull SoundClash

Two Stages - Two Bands - One Crowd - One Sound.

LebanonIndependance, Lebanon
View Event Info