XP Music Futures has unveiled programming details for the three-day and night event, set to take place in Riyadh from November 28-30. The music conference is confirmed to welcome leading industry figures, regional and international, who will address topics that are essential for the evolution of the region’s music industry, during XP’s daytime itinerary.
Expanding pathways for talent in the music and creative scene, XP has also released Nite programming details – the perfect intersection of work and play, showcasing the best of regional brands, artists, and performers across a variety of genres.
Recognized as a success with groundbreaking discussions and infinite opportunities, the second edition of the music conference will see programming categorized under four main pillars, considered the roadmap for the future of music in the Middle East. Newly introduced, the “Innovation” pillar will be the latest addition to XP’s existing building blocks: Talent, Scene and Impact.
From music experts and businesses, government officials and policymakers, to talent, creators, and entrepreneurs, XP calls out on all industry experts, revealing a culture that has been undiscovered by the world.
Nada AlHelabi, XP Program Director at MDLBEAST expressed: “XP Music Futures represents the perfect platform to build strong foundations for a thriving music industry and to expand on the opportunities available for music professionals of all backgrounds.
“We have carefully curated our Day and Nite programme to ensure all attendees participate in meaningful dialogue and experiences during the daytime, ahead of a packed night programme filled with performances from international and regional talent and activations throughout the conference to celebrate creatives to connect, collaborate and create together.
XP Day:
Composed of stimulating sessions in various formats, XP Day programming will see speakers from across the world fly into the Saudi capital to offer forward-thinking insights, with an ever-growing music community, stimulating knowledge exchange in various settings.
Tapping into the Innovation pillar, “All You Need to Know About NFTs, the Metaverse, and Web3” by Tristan Khan and “How NFTs are the Catalyst to a More Equitable Music Industry” moderated by Nizar Al Toraif with speakers Richard Zijlma, Antonia Folguera, Timmy Mowafi, and Emaan Zadjali will dive into the concepts of the digital music industry.
Exploring the Impact pillar, sustainability-focused panels such as “Breaking the Cycle. How Music Festivals are Leading the Way to Greener Events”, moderated by Raghad Fathaddin and presented by speakers Jiggs Thorne, Camille Guitteau, Salman Hammad, and Lydia Laws. Adding to that, “How to Kick-Start Your Plastic-Free Journey with Bye Bye Plastic”, by Camille Guitteau, and Priya Chandel, will address the issue of plastic-use in the industry and build an eco-friendly infrastructure for music events.
The Scene pillar will be embodied by a series of sessions, including “Building an Audience vs. Building a Community” moderated by Saeed Saeed, presented by Sofia Guellaty, Eduardo Castillo, and Natasha Stambuli, and “How to Brand Yourself As an Artist” presented by Alexandra Preusche, Cosmicat, Lydia Laws, Niko Seizov, and Valentina Palange.
Other sessions like “Maestro Xperience with Elyanna”, which will be the first-ever session to be conducted in Arabic, and “The Fundamentals of the Music Industry In A Digital Age with Mathew Knowles” will focus on the Talent pillar.
For the very first time, we will be introducing networking forums as new sessions in our program. One of these networking forums, “How to Get Booked!”, will be a speed meeting session with managers, agents, and event curators. In another session titled “Meet the MDLBEAST Team”, attendees will get to be up close and personal with the team members of MDLBEAST and be able to understand the brains and work that goes into putting together the Kingdom’s most exciting musical events and more. Another session with SceneNoise, a digital portal for the Middle East’s music scene and a voice for musical movements led by homegrown talents and brands, will wrap up the XP event with “SceneNoise’s Super Kool Karaoke Finale Party”.
XP Nite:
When the sun sets, XP Nite will go into full force – it will gather the region’s talents to showcase their music in a variety of performances for the crowd to enjoy after a long day of learning and networking experiences.
The programme will include an array of musical genres ranging from electronic music to Disco, Afro-fusion, Amapiano, Afrobeats, Jazz, Hip-hop, RnB and Indie, with seven dancefloors for the crowd to enjoy. Among the exciting list of confirmed regional and local artists to be taking over the stage at XP Nite is Moayad, who will be launching his debut album with MDLBEAST Records and performing it live for the very first time. Coming in from more than 20 countries, other artists include Eduardo Castillo, Cristina Lazic, Sebastian Mullaert and Karina Palmira Afrodance, who are set to turn up the crowd with their unique sounds. Some talents like Banah, a Bahraini Palestinian singer and song writer, and Egyptian rapper Felukah, they will be speakers by day and performers by night.
The event will also feature afro dance performances by Karina Palmira and leading figures in the regional afro dance scene, along with a dance cypher by Proud Angeles, which will bring together dancers from the region for a community dance off.
Tickets for XP Music Futures have been released in three categories: XP DAY, XP NITE, and FULL XPERIENCE (XP DAY + XP NITE). Fans can find out more and purchase their passes here.
