Saied Silbak & Ana Silvera return with Songs We Carry, a profoundly moving performance weaving Ladino and Arabic traditions into a border-defying, deeply personal journey of heritage, resilience, and virtuosity, praised for its stunning storytelling and transcendent musical fusion.

Following last year’s sold-out performance, vocalist and songwriter Ana Silvera reunites with oud player and composer Saied Silbak for their acclaimed project Songs We Carry. Together, they create a powerful, transportive performance that blends the emotive, melancholy tones of Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) music with the intricate maqams and melodies of Arabic song.

For Silvera, this project is deeply personal. Her ancestors were Jewish refugees of the Spanish Inquisition who resettled in Aleppo in the 18th century, and her reworking of ancestral songs honours both the resilience of her heritage and her own artistry as a contemporary singer-songwriter. Critics, including The Guardian, have praised her work as “stunning… magical storytelling,” recognising her talent for rendering ancient melodies afresh with emotional depth.

Silbak, meanwhile, draws on his own journey from Shafaa’mr, a city in the lower Galilee of occupied Palestine, to the cultural crossroads of London. A virtuoso with a profound understanding of diverse traditions, he weaves Arabic, Turkish, and Indian influences with Western styles to craft a sound that transcends borders. His compositions reflect both deep respect for heritage and a forward-looking exploration of music as a universal language.

Together, Silvera and Silbak offer a performance that is at once haunting and celebratory, rooted in histories of exile and migration yet illuminated by the possibilities of creative reinvention. Audiences can expect a set rich in atmosphere, improvisation, and luminous storytelling that speaks to the endurance of culture across generations.