SABÎL
Three dates in Asturias and Madrid, 23–25 October 2026. All profits go to the Human Appeal Foundation.
The events
Asturias
Open talk
A conversation with Ahmad Al Khatib and Youssef Hbeisch about Gaza, Palestine and the situation of artists working there: the conditions under which they compose, rehearse and carry their projects forward.
No booking needed
Concert in Piloña
Sabîl in concert. Doors open at 12:45. Standing only.
Madrid
Concert in Madrid
Sabîl in concert with guest artist Rocío Molina. Doors open at 12:30. The audience stands: the venue has no seats.
Their music
Full discography, listening links and further material at sabil-music.com and on their YouTube channel.
Who they are
Sabîl is the project Ahmad Al Khatib and Youssef Hbeisch formed in 2011, although they have played together since 1998. Sabîl means “path” in Arabic. Their music draws on the Arab classical tradition and Sufi mysticism, and works through improvisation and rhythmic experimentation.
Both have taught at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, in Ramallah and East Jerusalem.
Ahmad Al Khatib
Born in 1974 in a Palestinian refugee camp in Irbid, Jordan. He learned violin at school and studied oud with Ahmad Abed Qassim. He read musicology and Western classical cello at Yarmouk University, and in 2004 completed a master’s in music education methodology at the University of Gothenburg.
He headed the oriental music department at the Edward Said National Conservatory in Ramallah. In 2002 he was forced to leave Palestine. Since then he has taught modal theory, ear training and ensemble at the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg, where he lives.
He has co-written five oud method books and five volumes of transcriptions under the title Sharqiat. Besides Sabîl, he leads the projects Karloma, Samara, Sada Trio and Bosphorus Orchestra.
Youssef Hbeisch
Born in 1967 in Galilee. He began playing percussion at seven, taught by his brother. He studied philosophy and musicology, and researched the rhythmic systems of Indian, Persian, African, Cuban and Latin traditions. He plays darbuka, riq and bendir, among other instruments.
He taught for eight years at the Edward Said National Conservatory (East Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem) and for ten at Beit Al Musica in Galilee. He gives seminars and masterclasses at universities and festivals in Brazil, Sweden, Denmark and England.
He has been the percussionist of Le Trio Joubran since 2007. He has worked with Simon Shaheen, Ibrahim Maalouf, Aka Moon and Süleyman Erguner, and has composed for theatre and for the films Le dernier vol and Fix me. He lives between Haifa, Paris and stages around the world.
Discography
Rocío Molina · guest artist in Madrid
Rocío Molina (Torre del Mar, Málaga, 1984) is a flamenco dancer and choreographer. She received Spain’s National Dance Prize in 2010, and in 2022 the Silver Lion at the Venice Dance Biennale and the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts. She has been an associate artist of the Chaillot National Dance Theatre in Paris since 2015.
This is not the first time they have shared a stage: Impulso, her improvisation project, has a version with Sabîl that has toured Europe.
Where the money goes
Ahmad Al Khatib and Youssef Hbeisch perform without a fee, and the organisers take nothing either. All profits from the two concerts — box office takings once travel, accommodation and communication costs and the ticketing and venue commissions have been deducted — go to the Human Appeal Foundation, together with any donations received.
Human Appeal directs those funds to its emergency programmes in Gaza: food aid, water and health. Sabîl had already worked with the organisation before. This action is part of the programme of Festivalín, the world music festival of Piloña.
The collaboration is set out in a signed agreement between Bleu Prod, silencioSonoro and the Human Appeal Foundation.
Practical information
La Maléfica · Friday 23 · 20:00
It has no car park of its own, but there is a public car park next to it. There is a bar.
Getting there: in the centre of L’Infiestu. Local train line C-6 from Oviedo; from Gijón, line C-5 to El Berrón and change. ALSA buses.
View on Google Maps
AMC Bocanegra · Saturday 24 · 13:00
Doors open at 12:45, concert at 13:00. Standing only.
Entradium adds a 0.36 € booking fee on top of the 15 € ticket, so the final charge is 15.36 €. Those cents go to the ticketing platform, not to the organisers.
There is no dedicated car park: people park in the surrounding streets. There is a bar, but no food is served; there are restaurants nearby.
Getting there: via the N-634. 45 minutes from Oviedo (54 km), 46 from Gijón (56 km) and 10 from L’Infiestu (8 km). There is no public transport to Valles de San Román: the C-6 local train and the ALSA buses only go as far as L’Infiestu.
View on Google Maps
Sala Villanos · Sunday 25 · 13:00
Guest artist: Rocío MolinaDoors open at 12:30, concert at 13:00. The audience stands: the venue has no seats.
View on Google Maps
Organisers and partners
Organised by: Festivalín · Bleu Prod · silencioSonoro
With: AMC Bocanegra · Sala Villanos · La Maléfica
Profits to: Fundación Human Appeal
Follow us: Instagram @festivalin.oficial · Facebook
Press: Loïc Bastos (Bleu Prod) · loic@bleuprod.com · 629 58 79 16 · Javier Álvarez (silencioSonoro) · info@silenciosonoro.es · 616 23 54 04
Photographs: Jean-Baptiste Millot · Alexandre Chevillard
Press and downloads
Photographs by Jean-Baptiste Millot and Alexandre Chevillard. Please keep the credits.
Any questions about the concerts? Write to us at info@festivalin.es and we’ll get back to you.