The music of Bahrain is part of the Persian Gulf folk traditions. Alongside Kuwait, it is known for sawt music, a bluesy genre influenced by African, Indian and Persian music. Sultan Hamid, Ali Bahar and Khalid al Shaikh (a singer and oud player) are among the most popular musicians from Bahrain.
A plucked lute ('ud) is one of the instruments usually used to play sawt music.