Dua Saleh

It’s tempting to describe Dua Saleh as a natural. An artist who only began recording music two years ago isn’t supposed to sing with such infectious bravado and haunting gloom. Yet to say Dua, who identifies as gender non-binary and goes by they/them pronouns, has arrived fully-formed on their first-ever EP project titled Nūr - (pronounced “noor” - meaning “the light” in Arabic). They may have just decided to try songwriting, but they’ve spent their life working across divisions: borders, mediums, identities, and protest lines.

Dua Saleh grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota’s Rondo neighborhood. It was there, in a black cultural center of the Midwest with a once-thriving soul and jazz scene, where Dua became obsessed with music. From the sounds of their home country of Sudan streaming from a satellite specialty channel, to the jazz-scat singers of the 1940s, to R&B and hip-hop of the early 2000s, to dancehall and afro-beat, everything was fair game for Dua.

It’s Dua Saleh’s fluidity – of sound, of form, of self-presentation - that makes them so enlivening. Their vocal range is elastic, floating from an elegant purr into an unvarnished, guttural growl, and then back again at a moment’s notice. Their writing can be dreamy, but more often plumbs the soul, pricking deep with a poet’s precision and showing the scars that remain. To listen to Dua Saleh is to hear, in real time, someone fight for the right to define themselves for themselves.

Past Shows


May
20
th
2022
Fine Line
May
20
th
2022
Fine Line

Dua Saleh

with Ricki Monique
Jan
22
nd
2019
7th St Entry
Jan
22
nd
2019
7th St Entry

Dua Saleh

with Kamilla Love, Booboo and R.A.D
Aug
2
nd
2018
7th St Entry
Aug
2
nd
2018
7th St Entry

Chance York and Big Cats

with Dua Saleh, student 1, Dj Rowsheen and more!
Jul
14
th
2018
Mainroom
Jul
14
th
2018
Mainroom

Daddy

with Symone Smash It, Marcel Michelle-Mobama, Dua Saleh and more!
May
18
th
2018
7th St Entry
May
18
th
2018
7th St Entry

Izell Pyramid

with R.A.D, Dua Saleh, Falls and more!
Mar
23
rd
2018
7th St Entry
Mar
23
rd
2018
7th St Entry

NESS NITE

with Dua Saleh, Izell Pyramid, Dj Rowsheen and more!
Jan
13
th
2018
7th St Entry
Jan
13
th
2018
7th St Entry

Finding Novyon

with Dua Saleh, student 1 and TIIIIIIIIIIP
Jan
4
th
2018
Turf Club
Jan
4
th
2018
Turf Club

Andrew Broder

with Spank Rock, Dua Saleh, Psymun and more!
Dec
23
rd
2017
7th St Entry
Dec
23
rd
2017
7th St Entry

Neil Hilborn

with Dua Saleh
Jul
7
th
2017
Mainroom
Jul
7
th
2017
Mainroom

DJ Keezy and The Klituation

with DJ Sophia Eris, DJ Miss Brit, Maria Isa and more!

More Shows

May
22
nd
7th St Entry

Ezra Bell

with Second Hand Dan and Raynah
May
17
th
7th St Entry

Motel Breakfast

with Sleeping Jesus
May
2
nd
7th St Entry

J. Plaza

with Osa Deraé, Deja Miquel, The Knotties and more!
Apr
15
th
Fine Line

Libianca