The Elevator Pitch for Kuwaisiana

Tonight the +Aziz-led band tops the bill at Siberia. Here's why you should be there

Tonight the +Aziz-led band tops the bill at Siberia. Here's why you should be there

Who: Kuwaisiana
What: Indie rock with strong world music touches
When: July 5, 9 p.m.
Where: Siberia
Why: Kuwaiti musician +Aziz leads Kuwaisiana, and he has posted “Got Islamophobia?” fliers with his gigs as the answer. Kuwaisiana doesn’t make his national origin central to the band’s musical identity, even if it is part of the name. At its core, the band is first and foremost a funk, rock, reggae band with the emphasis on spirit and personal authenticity. The band folds Arabic lyrics and musical touches into the arrangements, but they’re the seasoning not the sauce.

Still, it’s hard to think of a band that’s more on time right now. Immigration is one of the things that Trump’s executive orders have genuinely affected since ICE, Border Patrol and Homeland Security already had people ready to move against America’s immigrant population. At a time when misinformation, stereotypes, and out-and-out ignorance muddles the immigrant conversation, it’s handy to have alternative voices framing the experience in different ways. +Aziz’s story itself runs counter to many narratives, and currently I’m also really enjoying the graphic novel series The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf and The New York Times’ “Welcome to the New World” series.

With Caity Bower and Luke Brechtelsbauer, Chicago’s Deadbeat, Chicago’s Richard Album and the Singles.