In the small yet impenetrable community of Iranians located in Los Angeles, there lives a fiery will to live and thrive despite the numerous outside forces with ill intent to shun and berate the community. Iranian-American singer Rana Mansour is living and breathing proof of this, with her remarkable activism to sing for those who don’t have the platform to air their grievances. In the country of Iran, it is forbidden for women to sing in public or perform as the main act of any event, something which Rana Mansour continues to challenge with her performances that are nothing short of powerhouse vocals to resonate with listeners who acknowledge and feel her pain, and the pain of thousands of Iranian women silenced to their demise.
On the night of August 26, dozens of concertgoers, both old and young, stood outside El Rey Theatre determined to be seated despite the ticketing system malfunctioning, leaving them to line up in a disorderly fashion at will-call to obtain their tickets. About 90 percent of the crowd was dressed to the nines, proving that Mansour’s show was not only a concert but also a social event in itself.
Mansour opened up the night with her song “Mahtab”, an ode to love that personifies one’s significant other as the moon, sea and other earthly commodities as they share a gratifying kiss with one another. Following “Mahtab”, the songstress continued with her hit single “Baroon,” a song characterized by its tango influences fashioned with Iranian pop. Shortly after, she performed “Taghase Eshgh,” a number about unrequited love heavy on strings and piano yet still retaining its pop influences in a manner that blends the two beautifully.
In the crowd, many watched in awe and delight, others swaying lightly to the trance of the music. Much of the crowd remained motionless not out of boredom, but out of respect and fascination for the artiste on stage.
During pauses in between songs, Mansour expressed her gratitude to members of the audience, stating that a lot of “important people” such as composers and producers were present, as well as thanking fans for being in attendance. “You guys are like my family,” she said. “Thank you so much for your support.” In much of the production, the songstress spoke in Farsi, the Persian language, to communicate with older members of the crowd who spoke a limited amount of English. Mansour noted that she was all about inclusivity, stating that “all of you guys, that you know me, you know that I’ve always cared for human rights. I don’t care what your religious beliefs are, I don’t care what your political beliefs are, I don’t care what your racial background is, I don’t care about any of that. We all have to be treated equally and with respect.”
Continuing on, Mansour performed songs “Bimarefat” and “Khastam Amma Nashod,” both of which are mid-tempo pop songs reliant on piano and soft strings of guitar. The melodic pop songs are prominent staples of Rana Mansour’s mission, which is to merge the music of the East and the West in an attempt to bring people of both worlds together in unison.
It is notable that Mansour also covered songs such as “Caruso” by legendary Italian pop-jazz-ballad singer Lucio Dalla and songs “Soghati” and “Shabeh Eshgh” by Hayedeh, one of the most influential singers of the Iranian music scene. The crowd was absolutely joyous, singing along word for word as if the world only existed in that room for those two hours.
During the intermission between the first and second part of her set, audience members turned amongst themselves to socialize and meet with one another, proving Mansour’s message, of bringing people closer to each other, a powerful one.
One of the most distinctive numbers of the night was the cover of “Hello,” paying homage to both Lionel Richie’s and Adele’s songs “Hello” in a medley that made the night worth remembering. The songstress proved herself to be an ingenious artist with this five-minute medley, doing right by both artists with her rendition of the tracks.
“Hello” was one of the few English songs she sang, alongside the songs “Something To Love” and “Burning.” Pictured on the projector screen, “Burning” was accompanied by visuals of slow-burning forest fires, amplifying the song’s message about the world’s slow suffering as a result of climate change and never-changing human ignorance.
To close the show, Mansour performed her hit single “Bayare,” also titled “For Woman, Life, Liberty,” an ode to Mahsa Amini, a female Iranian protestor who became a martyr shortly after her death while under police custody in the protests in Tel Aviv. With grace and poise, the songstress crooned the lyrics in English for everyone to sympathize with the pain of Iranian women and what it means to live in a society so unjust that they are met with death. At the end of the performance, one audience member yelled “Never forget September 16!” referencing the date Amini passed away in a hospital in Tehran, Iran after reportedly being brutally beaten and tortured by Iranian authorities. Amini’s alleged crime was that she had worn her headscarf “in an inappropriate manner.” This incident is what sparked an array of protests in Iran just hours following Amini’s death.
Rana Mansour’s testament, to put it short, was groundbreaking and emotional. From her performance to the words she shared, Mansour proved that a true performer and artist shakes people to their very core with their music and the message embedded within the words. In that night alone hundreds of concertgoers shared a safe space where they were allowed to mourn, cheer and most importantly celebrate Iran and what it means to be of Iranian descent.
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