Naaz X AAO

The collaboration began with a feeling. Naaz was so struck by the energy and craftsmanship of the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra that she invited them to appear on the VPRO programme 'On Stage'. What followed was not a one-off encounter, but the beginning of an artistic partnership that has continued to grow ever since.

That is no coincidence. Naaz is a Dutch-Kurdish singer who moves effortlessly between musical styles and worlds. As a teenager, she taught herself to write, produce and compose. After three absent years, she released her debut album in 2023 and established herself as one of the most distinctive artists in the Netherlands. That same year, she performed as the opening act for Lana Del Rey at the Ziggo Dome. On her second album 'The Sky Knows I Exist', she explores themes of identity, freedom, trauma and self-acceptance.

The Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra knows those themes from the inside out. The orchestra consists of young Amsterdam and Moroccan musicians who share a love of Al-Andalus: the Andalusian culture that for centuries was a place where Arabic, Amazigh, Jewish, Islamic and Christian traditions lived side by side. They combine music with dance, theatre and storytelling — not to reconstruct the past, but to create something new.

In this concert, those two worlds come together. Ancient traditions and contemporary pop music, multiple identities sharing one stage.