“Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist and Guitar Instructor”
His energy on stage is just contagious … he never steps down before capturing the hearts of those watching and listening. – Karina Eid, Showtime Entertainment Beirut
Lebanese-born Rock performer Jack Haddad embodies the mix of cultural influences.
Picture this: being born and raised in Lebanon while being highly influenced by western culture; add to it a lot of traveling and living abroad in early adulthood. You get that pretty interesting mixture and it ends up reflecting in your character and in your music.
Jack was always destined to become a multifaceted artist. After being surrounded by rock, blues, and metal music since his childhood, he picked up his first guitar at the age of 10. He hasn’t looked back ever since. He started performing vocals around the age of 20, and during the past decade, Jack has become an influential figure in the Lebanese live music scene.
He has fronted several bands covering different musical styles.
The most notable ones are:
2010: The Good Old Boys (Country)
2011: JackBox (Commercial and mainstream pop/rock)
2012 – 2016: Jack & the Spinning Wheels (Blues rock and mainstream pop/rock)
2016 – present: Jack Haddad & the Band (Pop/rock)
Jack has collaborated on several projects besides his live band.
He created musical scores for short movies, and recorded guitar tracks and solos for various musical projects.
However, live performances have always been his main focus.
The stage feels like home to him. It enables him to connect with himself and interact with his live audience.
Jack has performed in local, regional, and international events and festivals.
His notable debut was at Hard Rock Café – Beirut where he sold-out shows from 2011 until 2013. Abroad, he performed on stages in Amman, Jordan, and Paris, France. Jack went on to become a resident performer in Beirut’s finest clubs and venues since 2015.
During the same year, Jack experimented with a new style. He studied opera singing for 2 years with Maestro Toufic Maatouk, with whom he performed several opera musicals at the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman, and at the Expo 2015 in Milano, Italy.
2016 onwards was a period filled with Jack’s signature turbocharged performances, wild nights, and fully booked shows at the most prestigious clubs and stages in Lebanon and across the Middle East.
He is known for being the creator, producer, and lead performer of the Freddie Mercury Tribute in Lebanon for almost 2 years at Bahay Club (Beirut) and later at Piano the Club (Beirut).
When it comes to his community, Jack has contributed to charity by organizing and performing at various fundraising concerts and CSR events. The most notable fundraiser is “Unite for Ashrafieh” on October 25th 2012 which gathered more than 3,500 fellow Lebanese in response to the Ashrafieh bombing taking place earlier that same week.
2016 witnessed the birth of Jack’s brainchild JHGuitarSchool.
Being a renowned experienced guitar instructor, coach and mentor for many years, Jack manifested his commitment and dedication to his community by creating, establishing, and running the JHGuitarSchool in 2016.
The school is now a haven for younger generations and individuals in Lebanon who are aspiring guitarists looking to learn how to play the guitar or even develop their skills. JHGuitarSchool has grown to become a key player in the Lebanese guitar academy scene, showcasing students and talents during annual concerts in front of 600 people.
In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Jack released his debut single “Dark Times Never Last”. In Jack’s own words: “The instrumental piece is designed to give you hope for a better tomorrow. However, it has the power to provoke in you sadness or anger, and later on, alleviates that feeling with the help of a massive Mid-song energetic climactic Solo.
As the title suggests, the song Depicts the transition from darkness into light, from repression to revolution. May you always win your battles.”
Later the same year, Jack launched a Youtube Channel around Guitar Education called “Guitar Elevation”. Aiming to fill the lack of pedagogy in online guitar resources, in order to help guitar learners and enthusiasts around the globe progress on the guitar.
2021 promises new horizons as Jack prepares to launch new projects that aim to develop him as an artist.
Biography by Joe Assi