Zahra Alzubaidi

Habibi Festival • Oct 12, 2022

Zahra Alzubaidi is a New York based vocalist who performs a variety of Arabic styles, with a focus on Iraqi music. She has performed as a featured artist in multiple music venues throughout the US, and as a guest/chorus with ensembles such as Safaafir, Takht El Nagham, and The Brooklyn Nomads, among others. Zahra pays homage with her performances to the Southern Iraqi sound, and is dedicated to studying and researching the Iraqi Maqam and Atwar.

Born in Iraq to a big family, Zahra’s earliest influences are her family’s Chaabi wedding music, funeral recitations, and Hossat (popular southern songs to rile up crowds). It was through her older siblings, as well as Iraqi radio and television, that Zahra developed her appreciation for Classical Arabic artists such as Mohammad Abdul Wahab and the great Umm Kulthum. Later, when she emigrated to Amman in the mid-90’s, she was introduced to the Levantine music of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.