MARCEL KHALIFÉ
Promises of the Storm, 50 years later

A debut album, fifty years on !
In 1976, exiled in Paris by the war in Lebanon, a young Marcel Khalifé recorded his debut album, Promises of the Storm, setting to music the poems of the great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.
Sold at a Lebanese food stall at the Fête de l'Humanité, the record became a classic and made the oud player an international figure, known as much for his music as for his commitments.
Fifty years later, stranded in Paris after the bombing of Lebanon in late 2024, he knocked on the door of his son, the musician Bachar Mar-Khalifé: "Shall we do it? I'm ready to record." The result is four songs reinterpreted, stripped back, carried by the solitary strings of the oud and a voice deeper than ever.
Rita, Oummi, Passeport and Promises of the Storm speak of love and violence, a lost homeland, exile and hope, with undiminished power. The new album is released on 20 November 2026 (Idol / BigWax). Marcel Khalifé brings it to the stage at the Alhambra, one stop on a tour that also includes London's Barbican and Le Trianon in Paris.
Presented by ICAM – Institut des cultures arabes et méditerranéennes · With the support of Arab Bank Switzerland

Schedule (subject to change) :
Doors : 7pm
Concert : 8pm

Contact (promoter) :
ICAM-L'Olivier / Institut des cultures arabes et méditerranéennes
+41 22 731 84 40
alain.bittar@gmail.com
https://www.icamge.ch