On July 18^th, the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem organized a musical concert for the American Rock legend, Jonathan Edwards and his band, which included Charlie Rose, Bass and Banjo player and Taylor Armerding, Mandolin player, at Zafer Al-Masri Auditorium, Old Campus as part of a cultural exchange program that includes several art and music performances in the West Bank and Jerusalem between July 16^th and 19^th.

Edwards and his band performed a unique collection of songs in front of the audience at the auditorium. Edwards’ visit came through the Performing Arts Initiative, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem.

In his speech about the program, Mr. Frank Finver, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate, said it was a great honor for Edwards to visit Palestine and a great honor for the Consulate to host him and his band. He also said that Edwards occupies a distinguished place in the American culture and that his music conveys significant messages and deals with important issues related to human beings and life.

Edwards and his band also visited the Faculty of Fine Arts where they met with its Dean, Dr. Hasan N’erat, and the Faculty’s staff and organized a meeting with the students of Musicology at the Faculty in which they presented a number of musical pieces. After that, the students discussed with the artist and his band the different art rules related to the musical pieces they performed.

In return, the musical band of the Faculty of Fine Arts presented a number of musical pieces in front of the guests.

Edwards is an artist, musician, folk singer, songwriter and performer. He has issued a number of albums including the “Sunshine”, “Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy”, “One Day Closer” among others.