Mukhtar has written music for plays and documentaries for Arabic TV stations, such as MBC, ART, Mustakela and BB5, he also has composed music for a new Iraqi-European version of Stravinsky's Histoire du Soldat (A Soldier's Tale) that produced at The Old Vic at the end of January 2006. He released two CDs, in 1996 and 1999, both of which contain traditional music and original work. ARC music Company realized two CDs (rhythm of Baghdad-2003) and (Road to Baghdad-2005) for Mukhtar composition. Musicians Union in Britain at 1999 had awarded Ahmed an award of best non-western musical compositions.
The UN chose Ahmed and sixteen other musicians from all over the world to release a CD for the benefit of the victims of terrorism and wars. Human Rights Association adopted this. Today, he presents his own education musical program (Speech of the Oud) on the Almustaklah TV channel, which broadcasts from London. He also teaches Arabic music theory and percussion in London colleges.
Ahmed was born in 1967 in Baghdad, Iraq and has played the oud and Arabic percussion since 1979. He worked with many folk music groups and musicians in Baghdad. He studied Oud and percussion with the masters Ganim Hadad and Jameel Jerjis and graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. Ahmed worked with Arabic orchestras and performed on TV with several Iraqi groups. He went on to study Oud and western percussion at the high institute of music in Damascus. Later he studied at the London College of Music. At School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London, he earned a Master of music in performance, also Middle Eastern and Arabic music. Teaching Oud, percussion and Arabic music theory in many places in London such as SOAS-London University. From 1990 he became a performer and teacher and toured throughout the Middle East and Europe.
Faithless
The electronica legends are one of the biggest names in dance, with their monster track Insomnia being a dancefloor staple. They released their sixth studio album in May this year and have been gigging extensively around the world ever since. They are set to play the main stage at V Festival, where punters can enjoy an unforgettable live experience.
British Sea Power
The Brighton-born indie rockers have released four studio albums and are no strangers to the touring scene, having played hundreds of gigs worldwide. This year, they make an appearance at Reading, headlining the Festival Republic stage. They also co-headline the NME Weekender festival in November
Kasabian
The Brit-rockers have already made appearances at T in the Park and Benicassim festival this year, as well as scooping the prize of Best Group at the 2010 Brit Awards. Their headline performance at this year's V festival is sure to be one to remember.
Blink 182
The American punk legends reformed last year and have already completed one tour in North America and are currently in the throes of a European tour across the continent. Along the way, they will be stopping off to headline the main stage of Reading Festival, and they are sure to give the gigantic festival a suitably epic finish.
Seasick Steve
The American blues musician has gone from strength to strength since his first appearance on the Jools Holland show in 2006. Several tours and four albums later, Seasick Steve is still winning over the crowds with his bizarre range of homemade instruments. No stranger to the festival scene, this year he hits the main stage at V festival on Sunday Aug 22 and headlines the main stage at the Summer Sundae Festival on August 13
Dizzee Rascal
Everybody's favourite rapper has already played at the O2 arena with Lily Allen and headlined the Friday of Lovebox festival in London. Catch him this summer on the main stage at Reading on Aug 28, or see him strut his stuff at Bestival in September.
Mumford and Sons
The bearded folkies rose from obscurity in late 2009 with the release of their platinum album Sigh No More, and have continued their success with a string of gigs and festival appearances this year, with Latitude Festival, T in the Park and Itunes festival to name but a few. Their ongoing touring enthusiasm offers you the chance to experience their upbeat folk performances headlining the main stage on the Sunday of the Summer Sundae Festival, as well as performing on the NME stage at Reading Festival on Aug 27 and at Bestival in September.
Pendulum
The Australian-born drum & bass/rock crossover band are notorious for their explosive live shows, and having already gone down a storm at the Warriors Dance festival in Milton Keynes and Sonisphere festival in July, their headlining show on the NME stage at Reading Festival on Aug 28 is not to be missed.
The Libertines
The English rock band, fronted by the infamous duo of Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, released two studio albums among the seemingly endless problems of drug abuse and frontman rivalry that eventually caused the band to split in 2004. However, they have reformed this year, and will perform on the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals A reunion not to be missed.
The Prodigy
The Essex dance kings have had an intense year, hosting their very own Warriors Dance festival in Milton Keynes, and performed at T in the Park and dozens of other festivals abroad. Their summer is far from over yet though as they headline Bestival in September and are sure to be one of the highlights of this year's V Festival in Chelmsford and Staffs
It was in 2003, when the festival became a two site event, however and since then it’s not looked back. Booking bigger bands, on bigger stages, for the enjoyment of the whole family.
We may be well into August, but the Summer festival season is far from over.
With this year's Glastonbury and Download Festivals being praised as the best ever, there is no doubt that 2010's festivals will provide a whole new set of highlights and memories for the nation's festival-goers.
But the festie season is not over yet, oh no. Here's our pick of the bands to check out at the remaining events of the summer
V Festival has established itself as one of the premier festivals on the UK calendar. Offering a mixture of radio friendly acts and alternative giants it’s not hard to see why.
Held simultaneously at two different festival sites - Hylands Park in Chelmsford, Essex and Weston Park in Staffordshire – the V festival began in 1996, when it was called V96. Since then it has showcased acts including, Paul Weller, Kula Shaker, and The Charlatans, over a number of different stages.
On June 30, 2006, Virgin Group chief Richard Branson announced the inaugural shows. The first, which took place September 9 and 10, 2006 at Toronto Islands Park, Toronto, Canada, featured over 40 artists. A single-day show also took place in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, on September 23, 2006, at the Pimlico Race Course with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Who.
Virgin Festival 2007 took place in Vancouver on May 20 and 21, as well as a return to Baltimore for an expanded two-day event on August 4 and 5 and Toronto on September 8 and 9. On October 16, 2007, an event was announced to take place in Calgary, Alberta on June 21 and 22, 2008. The festival also returned to Baltimore on August 9 and 10, 2008.
The shows in Baltimore have been put on by Seth Hurwitz's I.M.P. Productions, owner/operator of the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. and the former producer of the HFStival.
In 2007, Richard Branson was encouraged by Daryl Hannah to green the Baltimore festival by bringing in zero waste event producers The Spitfire Agency.
The 2009 Virgin Mobile Festival, dubbed the Virgin Mobile FreeFest, was held on August 30, 2009 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The festival will return to Merriweather on Saturday, September 25, 2010, and will once again be a free event.
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The Virgin Fest (known from 2008 as the Virgin Mobile Festival in the United States) is a rock festival held in the United States and Canada, a spin-off from the V Festival held in the UK. In North America the Virgin name, and recently the Virgin Mobile brand, is used in full to increase brand association, compared with the UK and Australian festivals, where association is simply implied through the use of the V. As of 2010 it is known as Virgin Mobile Fest
Like the other variants of the V Festival, the events are sponsored by Virgin Mobile, in this case, either the US or Canadian versions.
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Mel C, Dido, and N.E.R.D. have all performed at the festival, and both Razorlight and Faithless performed in 2006. V showcases a mix of British and international musicians, from up-and-coming bands such as Coldplay in 2000 and the Kaiser Chiefs in 2003 and 2008, and glam rockers El Presidente in 2005, to veteran crooner Tony Christie. Girls Aloud also performed at the 2006 show, and received rave reviews for their performance. McFly performed at the festival in 2007 and received a huge turnout and great reviews that were not expected.
V97 was the first V Festival to be webcast. This was audio-only, and had about 30,000 listeners over the weekend. V98 had the live audio stream, as well as selected video webcasts from the back-stage web-chat area. The webcast and web-chats were managed through Virgin.net.
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The idea for V came in 1996 when Pulp's front man Jarvis Cocker announced he would love to play two outdoor venues in two days. Pulp's promoters got together and came up with the idea of putting the gig into Victoria Park Warrington and Hylands Park Chelmsford giving fans in both the North and South a chance to see the band. Then came the idea of adding more bands to the bill, putting on a second stage and letting people camp for the weekend. In the end Victoria Park was just too small for two stages and camping. So in August 1996 there was one day of artists in Victoria Park and two days at Hylands Park with camping. The northern leg of V97 was switched to Temple Newsam, Leeds to provide room for camping and three stages. In 1999 the Northern leg of the festival was moved to Weston Park in Staffordshire and has remained there since.
Previously it had been held at Temple Newsam in Leeds, before being replaced by Carling's Leeds Festival. Originally, the festival took the name of the current year, with the first festival being named "V96". Since 2003 it has been known as simply the V Festival. Its weekend format, low queuing times and professional organisation have given it a loyal audience. The festival sold out in record time in 2006.
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