Crowds of music lovers shrugged off the tense security situation in Lebanon and flocked to Downtown Beirut Saturday night for the 2014 Fete da la Musique.

“Thank you all for being here despite the shitty situation in the country, it shows that you’ve got real heart,” Oak, the eponymous lead singer of a folk rock band, told the crowd of around 150 gathered at the stage at the Roman baths.

The festival, which involved more than 40 performers on six stages, went ahead Saturday despite security forces being on high alert in the capital and across the country after Friday’s suicide bombing in the Bekaa Valley that killed an ISF officer. “I expected many Lebanese to be here, they bounce back from any situation" one festivalgoer, Ahmad, told The Daily Star. [Link]