Meet the all-female Arab rock bands who are revolutionizing the music scene

The stage lights are beaming, a rowdy crowd screaming their hearts out and the ultimate guitar solo that leaves little to the imagination: rock concerts are unlike any other experience, because they give everyone that feeling and this immediate thrill. To top it off, all-female rock concerts take the experience to whole new heights.

Across the region, all-female Arab rock bands have invaded the heavily male-dominated rock band music scene in what can be described as an evolving musical landscape.

Today’s music evolves at a progressive pace, leading to a musical evolution unlike any other. Let’s meet some of the most notable all-female Arab rock bands:

Mascara (2005)

If we turn our gaze to Egypt in 2005, we discover a less conservative landscape, but with restrictive social norms. However, these chains have loosened, allowing young Egyptian women to pursue careers in music. With that, we present to you Massive Scar Era (also known as Mascara), the very first Egyptian girl group.

Its founder is Sherine Amr, who faced a lot of backlash when she formed the group in 2005. This backlash came mainly from her family, but also because pop culture was deemed unsuitable for women at the time.

They weren’t like any band, as they used their music and live shows to advocate for something bigger. “Our group supports women’s rights in general. On our last tour, we were collecting money for Harassment Map (an organization trying to create a mass awareness campaign on sexual harassment in Egypt),” Amr said.

The Accolade (2008)

For this group, we’re going to have to hop on a mini time machine and go back to a time when the biggest hits were Myriam Fares’ “Mosh Ananeya” and Nokia phones were the ultimate new technology. Yes, we’re talking about the early 2000s, specifically 2008, when a group of students began performing and recording songs in the privacy of their homes.

They were known as The AccoLade, the first Saudi all-female rock band, which included Dina, Lamia and Dareen. They all gained widespread attention after recording their first single, “Pinocchio”, and posting it on MySpace and Facebook. What is different about them is that they have lived a double life.

In the morning, on their way to their university, they covered their hair and wore abayas. However, once confined to their homes, the abayas came off and were replaced by skinny jeans, Chuck Taylors, piercings and lots of mascara.

Knowing how conservative the country was at the time, it was the only way for them to achieve their dream. You can listen to their music via their YouTube channel.

Slave to the Sirens (2015)

All the way to Lebanon, another all-female group is killing the music scene. On stage, young women thrilled the crowd with their electric guitars. The band members, Shery Bechara and Lilas Mayassi, together formed the first ever Lebanese thrash metal band, Slave To Sirens. The group began in 2015 when Mayassi met Bechara at a protest in Beirut.

Thrash metal is unique because it is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal, which involves fast, repetitive drum beats, low-register guitar riffs, and overall aggression. With “Slave To Sirens,” the girls still rely on thrash metal to express their frustrations and emotions related to the ongoing political unrest in Lebanon.

Random Stars (2012)

Probably the most unique band on this list, UAE’s Random Stars is the first all-female Emirati rock band. Picture this: women dressed in abayas on a stage, guitars in hand, swaying their hips. This is the very example of the Emirati group from Al Ain.

They are all students at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Al Ain and started their career in rock and roll in 2012. The group was actually formed thanks to their English teacher, Jackie Small, from the United Kingdom.

They started by playing adapted classics such as “Smoke on the Water”, and from there they began writing their own music.

Seera (2022)

It all started with AccoLade in 2008, and today, Saudi Arabia’s all-female rock scene is only getting bigger. Seera, the first all-female Arab psychedelic rock band, is making a lot of noise these days. Since 2016, Saudi Arabia has completely flipped on its axis in terms of its openness to change.

From massive concerts by major international stars to the Grand Prix, the Kingdom has become the ultimate center of entertainment and sports. To continue this rapid progression, a group like Seera is taking over the Saudi music scene.

The four-member Riyadh-based band includes guitarist Haya, the masked “Thing” on drums, bassist Meesh and Nora on vocals and keyboards. The four had their first concert on May 4, 2023 at The Warehouse in Riyadh, attracting the largest crowd the venue has seen so far: over 250 attendees.

At each concert, they perform their unique music, which mixes classic Arabic melodies and psychedelic rock.

Before reading this article, did you know that any of these groups existed? How does it feel to know that there is such a thriving boom of all-female rock bands?

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