Dancing is in, dissent is out as Saudi Arabia's crown prince transforms his country
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Standing in a maelstrom of swirling smoke and spotlights, Nouf Sufyani, the 29-year-old Saudi DJ better known as Cosmicat, sang along to Fatboy Slim's "Right Here, Right Now." She looped a snippet of the melody, letting the tension build before grabbing the mic and shouting to the cheering, dancing crowd: "Right here, right now — we're Jeddah!"
It was the second night of Balad Beast, a two-day rave held earlier this month in Saudi Arabia's second-largest city. The event was part of Soundstorm, a series of state-backed music festivals that began in 2019 and has since brought dozens of international artists to the country, including Bruno Mars and top-flight DJ Solomun.
Fawaz Utaibi, a 26-year-old English-language teacher, was excited to cut loose in Jeddah's Balad, or Old Town, where an animated image of a giant cat's head was projected onto the coral-stone buildings, nodding to the beat. Five years ago, "there was nothing to do here — the only reason you'd come was to buy traditional goods. Now you can celebrate," he said.
"Look around you. It sounds crazy: We're partying in Saudi."
