Where you can see some of the biggest names in music today

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY March 14

Saudi Arabia is the country of honour at this year’s festival, so it makes perfect sense that the prolific Saudi singer Mohamed Abdo will start proceedings with a concert dubbed One Moonlit Evening. The singer was given the nickname ‘Artist Of The Arabs’ by former Tunisian president Bourguiba and first performed in the UAE in the early 1970s.

Emirates Palace Auditorium, West Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi, 8pm, Dhs125 to Dhs350. Tel: (050) 1299103. Taxi: Emirates Palace. abudhabifestival.ae

March 18

Hosted as part of the Festival Recital Series, which is free to attend with prior reservations, Spanish pianist Juan Pérez Floristán will perform an intimate concert at the NYU Abu Dhabi campus on Saadiyat Island. The 23-year-old upand-coming musician began his training at ten years of age under his mother and currently studies in Berlin with Uzbek classical pianist Eldar Nebolsin.

The Arts Center, NYU Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, 8pm, free to attend but reservations required in advance. Tel: (050) 1299103. Taxi: NYU Abu Dhabi campus. abudhabifestival.ae

March 19

Another concert that won’t dent your wallet, Lebanese jazz pianist Tarek Yamani has been commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Festival to create a new work, Portraits In Khaleeji Rhythms And Jazz, that explores the similarities and differences between these two genres of music.

The Arts Center, NYU Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, 8pm, free to attend but reservations required in advance. Tel: (050) 1299103. Taxi: NYU Abu Dhabi campus. abudhabifestival.ae

March 23

Collaborating with artists like Elton John and Frank Sinatra, Spanish flamenco guitarist Tomatito’s ‘nouveau flamenco’ style of music is a mixture of sounds including jazz, gypsy, Brazilian and even Turkish