A longing for home, made into music.
The Brooklyn Nomads began with a longing for home — not just a place, but a feeling: the warmth of a room, the memory inside a song, the joy of being surrounded by people who understand. Since 2014, from a Bed-Stuy stoop with an oud and a borrowed amp, every show has been an invitation to gather, listen, and feel at home with one another.
A world where intercultural music is not a novelty but a native tongue — where a maqam and a Brooklyn backbeat share the same breath, and audiences feel there is depth beneath the surface, and want to go deeper.
To build and share living, collaborative work — records, rooms, and live nights — rooted in Levantine tradition and Brooklyn community, made with care, in public, and with the door left open for whoever is ready to play.
Three worlds, drawn as one line.
Two homes, one key
Levantine maqam and Brooklyn groove aren't fused for spectacle. We look for the place where they were always the same note, and we play from there.
The line is the language
The oud, the brownstone arch, and geometric tessellation are one drawn world — a single ink line that runs through our sound, our stage, and everything we make.
The room stays open
We are community-rooted and collaborative by default — work is made in public, in progress, with the stoop door open for whoever is ready to sit in.
A short walk through the years
Who's in the room
A rotating core of musicians and makers. These are the people you'll most often find on the stoop.
Rami Haddad
Damascus-born, Brooklyn-built oud player who started the Nomads on his own stoop in 2014.
Layla Mansour
Beirut-raised vocalist whose phrasing bends maqam toward soul and back again.
Tariq Bishara
Keeps two clocks at once — a Levantine pulse and a Brooklyn pocket.
Noor Khalil
Writes the string arrangements that wrap the ensemble in cinema.
Dré Williams
Brooklyn-born low end and the bridge to the city's club and hip-hop worlds.
Supporters & Partners
The organizations, funders, and neighbors who help keep the room open — and the free nights possible. Presenting a show with us is not the same as sponsoring one; both belong here, each in their own place.
With thanks also to Rana A., Michael T., The Haddad Family, Yusuf & Lina, Dr. N. Karam, and Anonymous (×12).