Description: Home page of Ishtar, a world group from Pittsburgh. Since 2006, Ishtar has been Pittsburgh's Vintage Bellydance Band. Ishtar is comprised of Melissa Murphey on clarinet, Jeff Chmielarski on electric bass and Bryan Bowman on darbuka. Playing their own
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Ishtar Ishtar Home Listen Shows Pictures Booking/Contact Bio Songlist Purchase Email List Welcome
Ishtar is Pittsburgh's BellyRock Band. Ishtar is comprised of Melissa Murphey on clarinet, Jeff Chmielarski on electric bass, Kendall Williams on guitar, Owen Dougan-Bascha on cajone and Geoff Thomas on darbuka. Playing their own unique interpretation of Vintage Middle Eastern and Mediterranean folk melodies, Ishtar performs songs that were popular in the bellydancing nightclub scene during the mid-20th century. This exceptional fusion of traditional songs with surf rock elements has become: BellyRock.
Ishtar has played for events in Morgantown WV, Akron OH, Charleston SC, Baltimore MD, and Charlotte NC. Since 2007, Ishtar has performed to record breaking crowds at the Washington DC Turkish Festival. Ishtar was the featured performing group at the Turkish American Student Association dinner for Turkish Republic Day.