Jalsa has brought more than 100 performers to the stage at Manarat Al Saadiyat, offering free entry and a white plastic chair as an invitation to take the microphone. In a city where grassroots communities for local creatives are fewer, the Abu Dhabi open-mic series is a locally organised attempt to make room for artists.
A chair, a microphone, an opening
The chair is Jalsa’s symbol on stage. Anyone can sit, take the microphone and be seen. Across four editions held over four months, the events have drawn more than 2,000 attendees, with more than 25 volunteers supporting production. Those figures describe a platform built through participation, not a promise from an institution above.
The idea came during a car ride between friends Hamad Al Shamsi, Abdullah Al Shamsi and Preston Dcosta. The three later founded Harmony Abu Dhabi, the company behind Jalsa. Hamad, an NYUAD alumnus, works as a master of ceremonies and loves storytelling. Preston is a pianist, drummer and sound engineer. Abdullah, a singer performing as NotSoHuman, started out posting song covers on social media. He released his debut single, “Love it Up,” in 2023.
“We want people to be able to shine, to find a platform in Abu Dhabi,” Hamad told The National. “There is so much Abu Dhabi has to offer, and we're just a drop in the ocean.” Since launching that summer, the organisers have held four editions. The series is modest beside the city’s fast-growing arts and culture scene, but the practical gap they describe is clear: Abu Dhabi has fewer grassroots communities for local creatives.
The gap the organisers describe
“If we wanted to perform in an open mic, we had to go from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. There was nothing home-grown in Abu Dhabi. So we decided to start something on our own,” Preston said. Jalsa is their response: a series put together by local organisers, backed by volunteers, with performances allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Performances are diverse and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis,” Abdullah said. “We have people performing for the very first time. We have a performer who is three years old,” Hamad added. “People from Ghana to the UAE to South Africa to Korea to Russia, it goes all around.” Aysha, an attendee, said: “I love seeing the community coming together. I love the initiative of the young coming in.”
The team organised the four editions as “chapters,” each inspired by a part of the UAE’s story: The Majlis, The Desert, The Sea and The Stars. The first drew on the traditional Emirati majlis and its welcoming spirit; the second looked at resilience in harsh times; the third centred on the sea and the UAE’s links with the wider world. Held last week, the final chapter used stars that once guided journeys across desert and sea as symbols of dreams and aspirations.
Free entry, fragile finances
Jalsa still runs as an out-of-pocket initiative. Entry is free, and a small baqala selling branded merchandise and local snacks brings in its main revenue. The team hopes to secure funding to grow the community and support more talent in Abu Dhabi across creative fields beyond music. The funding hasn’t come through yet, according to the article. For now, the organisers rely on their own resources, merchandise sales and volunteer labour.
Lavalina, a singer and bassist, said Jalsa can offer more than a place to perform: “It gives a stepping stone to continuing your journey. And being able to pursue your dreams as a career, not just as a vocation or as a hobby.” Preston said the organisers reject charging artists to perform: “We are against the idea of artists having to pay. We will never make the open mic a paid event because the artists have spent so much time, so much effort refining their art form.”
One stage can’t fix the wider shortage the organisers describe. Jalsa’s model is smaller and more immediate: free entry, an open microphone, volunteers handling production, and performers taking a turn. The organisers want funding to expand the effort, while insisting artists won’t pay for access. For now, the chair stays open.