The seminal rockers, Scorpions, are playing a massive sold-out gig at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel, in the summer of 2022. The veteran German band have been going since the sixties and have changed lineups, and even musical style, several times in their distinguished musical career. Their plethora of albums have ranged from soft-rock, all the way to heavy metal, and seemingly everything in between. 

Those lucky enough to be in the crowd for the gig then, will be in rock heaven, and we’re sure many eager people will be travelling far and wide in the region to witness it. It’s a great reminder that there are millions of rock-obsessed fans all over the globe, and they’re not all just located here in the West. So, we thought we’d look back at some of the greatest rock concerts to ever take place in the Middle East. 

Chuck Berry – Dubai

There’s not many musicians in history that have been as influential as Chuck Berry, after all, he is renowned as the ‘Father of Rock and Roll’. Born in 1926, Berry managed to spearhead the movement in the fifties, that evolved the rhythm and blues into pure rock and roll. His standout tracks are true revolutionary anthems, including ‘Roll over Beethoven’, and ‘Johnny B. Goode’, and he’s influenced everyone from The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix, all the way to Guns N’ Roses. 

Berry was a fantastic choice then, back in 1998, to showcase the grand opening of the first ever Hard Rock Cafe branch in Dubai, a city located in the United Arab Emirates. The, then, 72-year-old was in fine form, rocking his way through all of his greatest hits, and still managing to wow the crowd with his athletic showmanship, even at such an advanced age. 

Whilst the Hard Rock Cafe branch in Dubai doesn’t actually have a massive casino attached to it, like the famous one located in Las Vegas, gambling is actually on the rise in the Arabic world. This is thanks to the launch of online casino sites, such as Arabian Betting, who cater to the many gambling aficionados in the region. They’ve handily listed the best Arabic online casinos for 2022, where users can find the safest sites to play their favourite casino games. On top of that, there’s also top tips for how to use the amazing bonuses on offer to better maximise profits, helping make many of their visitors winners.  

Guns N’ Roses – Tel Aviv 

The hard rock hell-raisers from Hollywood, Guns N’ Roses, have played in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv a few times, but we’re choosing their massive 2017 concert as the standout performance. Just under 60,000 people fervently gathered outside at Yarkon Park to observe the crazed antics of one of music’s most infamous bands. The line-up consisted of classic members Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan, all back playing together on the Not in This Lifetime… Tour, which totalled 175 shows across the globe. 

They were in red-hot form when they hit Tel Aviv, even in sweltering summer conditions, playing for a manic three hours. All of their hardest hits were included in the setlist, and they finished on crowd-favourite ‘Paradise City’, leaving everyone sweaty, but thrilled, and fulfilled. 

The Rolling Stones – Abu Dhabi 

Next up is another mesmerising gig that took place in the United Arab Emirates, but instead of happening in Dubai, this time it took place in the country’s capital, Abu Dhabi. The Rolling Stones have fully cemented themselves as one of the most acclaimed rock bands of all-time. Since they burst onto the musical scene back in the sixties, they’ve recorded an immense thirty studio albums, and released 121 singles, and have sold a stratospheric 240 million records worldwide. 

Rather amazingly, for a band that have been putting on world tours for so many decades, they didn’t play their first concert in the Middle East until 2014. The event attracted massive press attention when it did finally take place though, and 30,000 enthusiastic Stones fans packed themselves into the Yas Arena, to watch the old-but-gold superstars. They played an incredible rendition of ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ with help from the local Community Choir, the Al Khubairat Singers. 

Unfortunately for followers of the band, and just lovers of legendary drummers, their sticks man, Charlie Watts, passed away last year. The good news though, is that there’s an upcoming official Charlie Watts biography due to be released in October to get stuck into.