Artist photo captions:
Macklemore
Four-time Grammy Award winning rapper Macklemore marked his debut performance in Saudi Arabia by telling the Gamers8: The Land of Heroes crowd how touched he was by the warmest of welcomes in Riyadh. Macklemore revealed he had spoken on the phone to his wife 20 minutes before his set at Boulevard Riyadh City. Macklemore, who also practiced some Arabic phrases with the adoring crowd, said: “She asked how it was going and I told her, ‘There’s 11,000 people here tonight, it’s sold out’. And do you know what she said? She said, ‘Oh, my! If your 15-year-old self could look at you now and know that you have 11,000 people coming out to party with you in Saudi Arabia, you would freak out’.” Macklemore added: “I’m so grateful, Saudi Arabia. Thank you for welcoming me – and the best part is that I can’t wait to come back and party with you all again!”
R3HAB
R3HAB, last year’s Gamers8 anthem artist, was back at the biggest gaming and esports festival worldwide to wrap up Friday night’s Week 2 concerts. And the Dutch-Moroccan DJ revealed he’s a huge fan of not just Saudi Arabia, but the nation’s delicious cuisine. R3HAB said: “I think I will be eating Kabsa tomorrow, I love Saudi food.” After bringing the night to an epic close with hit tune All Around the World (La La La), he added: “I was happy to be back on the Gamers8 stage and it’s good to be back in Saudi.”
Mohamed Hamaki
The Egyptian artist delighted the sold-out Gamers8: The Land of Heroes crowd with his Friday night performance at the Mohammed Abdu Arena at Boulevard Riyadh City. He performed a mix of his popular songs such as “Ahla Haga Feeki”, “Ya Sattar”, and everyone’s favorite “Ma Balash”. Hamaki brought energy and excitement to the crowd with the catchy melodies and lyrics everyone was singing to.
DJ Sharkk
Local favorite DJ Sharkk brought the Gamers8: The Land of Heroes house down towards the end of his set with remixes of Benny Benassi’s Satisfaction and Sean Kingston’s Fire Burning.