Media Release

PRESS CONTACT

Soha Yassine  |  The Peoples Marketplace | 929.284.0333

diasporapeoplesplace.org | press@peoplesmarketplace.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Diaspora Built Its Own Coachella — and Admission Is Donation Based

NOCHELLA is the diaspora community's answer to an industry that looked away. Every artist is from a diaspora community. Every vendor is diaspora. All are welcome.

LOS ANGELES — On Coachella weekend, April 11, a different kind of festival in the spirit of Woodstock and Live Aid takes over an 18,000 square foot warehouse in the LA Arts District. No corporate sponsors. Admission is donation-based, the lineup is entirely diaspora, and two of the headliners are performing live from Beirut.

NOCHELLA: A Day of Unity for Lebanon and Palestine is organized by Diaspora Peoples Place, a volunteer-run Los Angeles 501(c)(3) whose signature event is The Peoples Marketplace, and presented by Midnight Books and For Your Viewing Pleasure. The event is a direct response to a music industry and brand economy that stayed mostly quiet when Lebanon was bombed and Gaza was starved.

"The diaspora has always had buying power. But when the artists and brands we supported went silent — we realized we had to build something of our own. NOCHELLA is that something." — Vanessa Dahbour/ Event Organizer, For Your Viewing Pleasure

The Peoples Stage opens at 5 PM with live music, poetry, a sound bath, and an open mic where the floor belongs to the community. Lebanese hip hop headliner Jamul performs live from Beirut with special guests. DJ Aladin also streams from Beirut. Palestinian rapper Konstancy, Leila Milki, Mayoush, Dude with the Oud, Olivia Sodd, and Mawtini Children’s Choir perform in Los Angeles. Poets Aida Ashouri (Iranian-American human rights attorney and candidate for LA City Attorney 2026), Michael Cirelli (founder of the National Youth Poet Laureate Program), Maya Abdallah (Palestinian-Lebanese poet, filmmaker, and viral UCLA hunger striker), Cowboy Poetry LA, and Poets for Palestine perform throughout the evening. MC Stevie Youssef (Founder of MENA Creators Club) holds the room.

The headliners are not crossover acts groomed for mainstream consumption. They are artists making music rooted in lived reality in MENA.

"When Jamul performs from Beirut and we're listening in Los Angeles, that's not a livestream. That's a dispatch. These artists are our newspaper telling us what life looks like on the ground, in real time." — Soha Yassine / Event Lead, Diaspora Peoples Place

The Peoples Gallery runs alongside: the Safe House Gallery, a Palestine 36 exhibit, the Unmute Humanity exhibit, and screenings of El Arena — a film about Arab rappers converging on Beirut as the region collapses — and 21 Minutes in Palestine, Humna Khan's documentary of ordinary Palestinian life. Screening begins at 3:30 PM.

The Peoples Marketplace fills the floor with over 30 Palestinian, Lebanese, and mission-aligned vendors: Knafeh Queens, No Cap Kebab, Nouha's Saj & Manoushe, Tacos for Gaza, Saba's Kitchen, Sahra Coffee, Habibi Boba, Reem Bakes, Midnight Books, Safr Apparel, Stitch 4 Pali, Lebanese Glass, Palestinian Tatreez, Jiyd Jewels, and more. Advocacy organizations including the Asian Youth Movement, Peoples Center for Palestine, and We Deserve Better Foundation.

NOCHELLA includes a Save Astralab activation. Founded by Iranian-Americans, Astralab is a Los Angeles diaspora cultural hub facing imminent eviction. Thousands have signed the petition to save it.

Vendor fees are kept low. Proceeds go to the Lebanese Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

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EVENT DETAILS

NOCHELLA: A Day of Unity for Lebanon and Palestine

· Saturday, April 11, 2026 · Astro LA, 430 Colyton St, Los Angeles 90013

· Doors 3 PM · Performances from 5 PM · Donation based admission until April 11, door price $25.

· Tickets givebutter.com/nochella

ABOUT DIASPORA PEOPLES PLACE

Diaspora Peoples Place is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit strengthening diaspora communities by empowering creatives and entrepreneurs. We raise funds through decolonized community gatherings such as The Peoples Marketplace, where diaspora communities and their allies unite, heal, and collaborate for transformative change. Proceeds support the Empowerment Fund, providing micro-grants to diaspora creatives and entrepreneurs building stronger, more self-sufficient communities. NOCHELLA benefits the Lebanese Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

PARTNERS + SPONSORS

Astro LA · Hayat · Latino Muslim Unity · Nahr Designs · LA Hookah · Knafeh Queens · Watermelon Pictures · Modern Eid · We Deserve Better Foundation · Safe House · Galeria Yasmin