Backstage: Dana Salah at OC MENA Festival, California

Palestinian-Jordanian artist Dana Salah has emerged as a distinctive voice in the indie-pop and alternative Arabic music landscape, particularly within the global Arab diaspora. Defining her genre as ‘Falahi Pop’, Salah fuses contemporary Western pop with traditional Arabic instrumentation, vocal textures, and cultural references to create a refreshing sound that represents her heritage. Previously known as King Deco, Salah’s return to her birth name marked a shift toward more personal and socially conscious storytelling, using music as a space to explore identity, belonging, and the complexities of the Arab experience abroad. 

For the latest instalment of our ‘Backstage’ series, we caught up with Dana Salah ahead of her headline performance at OC MENA Festival in California. She took us behind the scenes of her preparation process, from intensive choreography rehearsals to her evolving relationship with movement as a form of expression on stage. Salah also reflected on the importance of having a festival dedicated to celebrating Arab artists in the US, and the role such platforms play in introducing wider audiences to the depth and diversity of Arab music.