Playing Heavy Metal and Drumming as a Woman in the Islamic Republic of Iran...
By Natasha Phillips
Pioneering Iranian musician Shirin Vazei has played the drums for several rock bands in Iran, taking the heavy metal scene by storm while shaking up gender stereotypes in her home country.
Heavy metal...
Iran Has Banned 52 Women Musicians from Performing Since January
The Iranian authorities have banned the cellist Elmira Nematzadeh and the daf player Negar Ezazi, two female members of the music band Hamnavazan Hesar, from accompanying the tar virtuoso, songwriter and singer Ali Ghamsari...
Vigen, Iran’s ‘Sultan of Pop’: Profile
Vigen was Iran’s first male pop star. He was known as “the Sultan of pop,” and one of the first entertainers in the country to perform with a guitar in the 1950s and 1960s.
He...
Prima Ballerina Haydeh Changizian Dreams of Reopening A Ballet School in Iran
By Katy Shahandeh
Haydeh Changizian is an artist with an illustrious past. Formerly a Prima Ballerina with the National Ballet of Iran – before its shutdown after the Iranian Revolution in 1979 – she has...
INTERVIEW: Singer Niaz Nawab Fuses Persian Poetry With Western Sound
By Fred Parvaneh
Niaz Nawab is an Iranian-born singer, songwriter, multi-instrumental musician, and music teacher currently residing in Paris.
As a scion of one of Iran’s most prominent musical families, Niaz was spotted early on as...
Googoosh Embarks on World Tour, Releases Album 21 Years After Her Comeback
By Nazanine Nouri
Googoosh, one of the most influential Iranian pop artists of all time and a national treasure to generations of Iranians, is celebrating the 21st anniversary of her return to the world stage...
INTERVIEW: Israeli-Iranian Singer Liraz Charhi to Debut Her Album “Zan” In London Concert
By Ahmad Rafat
Liraz Charhi, a 31-year-old Israeli Singer of Iranian descent, will debut her album Zan (“Woman”) at a concert on May 19 in London.
Born in Ramla, Israel, into a Persian Jewish family, she...
Ballerina Farzaneh Kaboli Offers Dance Instruction to Women in Iran
By Firouzeh Ramezanzadeh
Farzaneh Kaboli is an Iranian ballet dancer, choreographer, stage and film actress. She was one of the country’s most famous ballerinas before the Revolution.
The Islamic Republic imposed a ban on dancing after...
Iranians Remember Master Vocalist Shajarian With His Freedom Song ‘Morgh e Sahar’
By Nazanine Nouri
Iranians around the world are mourning the loss of the legendary classical Persian music singer, Mohammad Reza Shajarian (1940-2020). News of his death has spurred an outpouring of grief, and the master...
Singing About Hijab: Pop Vocalist Golazin Speaks to Kayhan Life
By Ahmad Rafat
Golazin Ardestani, better known as “Golazin” or “Gola,” is an Iranian-born Trap pop and urban singer. She has recently released her latest single, Haghmeh, which is about the mandatory hijab imposed on Iranian...
