The Many Faces of Moradi’s Music: A Comparative Analysis of Situational Identities

In November 2024, Iranian musicians Ali Akbar Moradi and Pejman Hadadi toured the US East Coast, performing compositions for the tanbur, a long-necked lute mainly used by the Yarsan followers in western Iran. Despite the largely identical musical content across the concerts, they were all labeled differently. In brochures, artists’ and emcees’ short introductions onstage, and more intimate chats after the concerts, their music might be identified as Iranian, Persian, Kurdish, and/or Yaresan. While some of these titles might be awkward or avoided in Iran due to sociopolitical concerns, they may be deemed suitable for promoting this music among American audiences or the Iranian diaspora in the United States. By comparing the different labels used during Moradi’s 2024 East Coast tour and the way his recordings have been categorized in Iran, this paper examines how labeling processes reflect broader sociopolitical concerns and constraints. Drawing on theories of situational identity (Hall 1996), I argue that social contexts determine not only the way Moradi’s music has been categorized but also the connotations the same category may evoke among different demographics within and outside Iran. In this study, I use participant observation and unstructured interviews with artists and facilitators during and after the events, as well as investigating the labels used for Moradi’s previous recordings in online music streaming databases. This study shows how a seemingly innocuous concert series can serve as a lens for understanding Iran's complex sociopolitical landscape, ethnic/national factions, and ideological perspectives.