Gigi Arabia & The Rise of Saudi Alternative Music

CreativeMornings Riyadh recently hosted an event exploring Saudi Arabia’s emerging punk and alternative music scene, a cultural space still largely underground and not widely recognized. The session introduced lead speaker Gigi Arabia — musician, entrepreneur, and founder of Heavy Metal Entertainment — to shed light on this growing creative movement.

Gigi, a music business professional, discussed the steady growth of Saudi Arabia’s alternative music landscape. She explained that alternative music extends far beyond punk, encompassing a wide range of genres outside mainstream pop and rock. She highlighted how Jeddah leans more toward gothic and melodic death metal, while Riyadh’s scene gravitates toward rock and heavy metal.

Gigi outlined a clear timeline for the scene’s growth: its early rise in the 1990s, a revival in 2019, international attention in 2024, and its continued expansion in 2025 and beyond. Bands under her management have even toured globally and opened for internationally recognized artists such as Guns N’ Roses. Gigi also encourages young musicians — even small garage bands — to reach out to her company for support, offering rehearsal spaces and rare opportunities for live performances and international exposure.

Literature Meets the Alternative Scene

The alternative music movement has long intersected with literature, sharing themes of rebellion, creative independence, and cultural defiance. Several key books reflect this spirit:

• Just Kids by Patti Smith offers a poetic and deeply personal account of New York’s early punk scene, following her journey with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe as they navigate love, identity, and artistic survival.
• Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain provides a raw, uncensored oral history of punk’s origins, told through interviews with musicians, managers, and fans who shaped the subculture’s rebellious ethos.
• Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon reflects on her life as a founding member of Sonic Youth, offering insights into navigating the alternative music world as a woman in a male-dominated industry, while exploring themes of independence and vulnerability.

The event offered participants a rare opportunity to engage with a cultural conversation that continues to evolve — not only in music, but across creative expression.