Habibi Festival at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Featuring EMEL, Mai Elgizouli, Nesrine, Yacine Boulares and the Habibi Festival House Band, and Yalla! Party Project

Since her debut in 2011 with ‘Kelmti Horra’ (‘My Word is Free’) – a track which became a hymn to freedom in the middle of the Arab Spring, Emel has not stopped to release revolutionary albums - where Emel collaborated with the composer behind Björk and Sigur Rós.

Her fourth album, 'MRA' - which means 'woman' in Arabic - is a pop/world/electro manifesto for female emancipation. That’s why every single collaborator on MRA, from producers, featured artists, musicians, and beyond, is a woman — marginalized in recognition, but outsized in ability. The result is a multi-genre meld where African trap, batucada, Arabic reggaeton, hip hop, and drum n’ bass rub shoulders seamlessly with vibrant melodies and empowering lyrics.

But Emel has come a long way, this American-Tunisian singer has established herself as an avant-garde artist on the international scene, doing ground-breaking performing – as the invitation to sing at the Nobel Prize ceremony- and collaborating with artists such as Valgeir Sigurdsson, Tricky, Barbara Pravi, Bachar Mar-Khalifé and Vitalic, and most recently with Acid Arab on the song Lose My Mind, from her latest album, “MRA”.

Hailed by Radio France Internationale as “a Tunisian man in NY, one of the most talented jazzmen of his generation,” Yacine Boulares is a French-Tunisian saxophonist, composer, and curator. After graduating from the Paris National Conservatory, Yacine moved to New York on a Fulbright scholarship in 2009 to attend the New School for Jazz. NYC exposed him to a myriad of different musics. Soon, he began touring with Fela Kuti's ex-drummer Jojo Kuo and Haitian Kompa legends Tabou Combo (since 2013). In their music, he found a deep echo of his Tunisian roots.

These influences inspired him to seek his own identity, and his explorations of North and West African rhythms led to the creation of AJOYO—a blend of African tradition, jazz, and soul. AJOYO released two albums in 2015 and 2020. (War Chant was awarded Best Global Music EP at the Independent Music Awards in 2020.)

In 2014, Yacine was featured on Plácido Domingo’s Encanto del Mar as a soloist and arranger. There, he met cellist Vincent Segal and conceived the idea to explore the Tunisian Stambeli repertoire with drummer Nasheet Waits. In 2015, the trio—Abu Sadiya—was awarded the French American Jazz Exchange grant, the Arab Fund for the Arts and Culture, and the Brooklyn Arts Fund. The album—released in 2017—was hailed by Le Monde as “a glittering instrumental suite, all fluidity and golden colors.” The trio performed at Jazzahead in 2017, and their U.S. tours included the Lincoln Center and the Jazz Gallery in NYC.

In 2019, Yacine was selected to be part of the Joe’s Pub Working Group, where he developed the concept of Ifriqiya, a multimedia performance exploring Afro-Arabic rhythmic traditions through film and composition. His residency also led to the creation of the Habibi Festival in New York—the first U.S. music festival dedicated to contemporary Arabic music (now in its third year).

In 2020, Yacine was commissioned by the Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Tunis to create Night in Tunisia, a new project re-appropriating Dizzy Gillespie’s standard through a suite of original compositions blending Tunisian rhythms, soul, and Arabic traditions. In 2022, Night in Tunisia evolved into the collective OSOOL and toured the U.S. twice (Habibi Festival, Duke University, Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, Drom, The ArtYard...).

In 2023, he was part of Archie Shepp’s creation at BAM, "The Cry of My People", alongside Jason Moran, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Amina Claudine Myers, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, and Amir El Saffar. Yacine is a 2023–24 National Arts Club Fellow.

Nesrine is a singer, cellist and songwriter whose music blends classical influences with contemporary songwriting and North African music. Born and raised in France between cultures, she sings in both Arabic and French, creating a deeply personal and emotional musical universe.

At the heart of her work is the unique dialogue between her voice and her cello, which gives her performances a distinctive and intimate sound. Whether performing solo or with her trio, Nesrine invites audiences into a sensitive and immersive musical experience.

She has performed across Europe and the world in renowned venues and festivals, bringing her singular artistic voice to audiences who connect with the honesty and intensity of her music.

Mai Elgizouli is a Sudanese singer, songwriter, filmmaker, and visual artist from Omdurman, Khartoum. Raised in a family of artists who nurtured her love for music and creative expression, she carries her songs and personal life experiences in her Sudanese Arabic, delicate language. Her music, influenced by Sudanese sounds from the 1980s and 1990s, blends folk fusion with diverse contemporary styles.

For Mai, music is a language, a shortcut to opening deep and personal conversations. Her songs explore themes of love, loss, and healing, using music as a deeply personal form of expression. Having lived in Cairo for several years, she has expanded her cultural and artistic perspective. Since moving to New York, she has performed at the International House, connecting with audiences through her intimate storytelling and emotional performances.