A profile of Dubai-based guitarist and musician Rob Anthony (@robanthonydxb).

DUBAI - Canadian musician Rob Anthony is a fixture of the Dubai music scene. Publicly, he’s known for his dynamic onstage presence and stylistic versatility. Privately, his work ethic is legendary. One close friend, the artist Mulumba Tshikuka, characterized his “relentless willpower” as a special kind of alchemy. “Proof,” Tshikuka says, “that grit makes magic”.

And yet there are no divas here. Mikey Reed, frontman for BIG Mouth, one of Dubai’s top live music acts, describes Anthony as a “consummate professional.” So does drummer Karim Moussa, who describes him as a “great player”, a “versatile talent”, and “a pleasure to work with”. With Anthony, says Dubai crooner Junior Brown, “what you see is what you get - no BS.”

“Rob’s playing is tight, soulful, and full of life. He has that groove that makes people move. It's never just about the notes, it's about the vibe he creates.”

By all accounts, Rob Anthony has earned the respect and admiration of performers and managers alike. What’s more is he did it the old-fashioned way: he stands out as a reliable point of calm in a sea of chaos.

Until, that is, the lights dim and the amps are cranked.

Live performance is Anthony’s first love. Says Reed, a friend and professional admirer: “Rob has an unforgettable flair,” and “endless energy and enthusiasm on stage.” Charley Ryan, an Irish singer in Dubai who’s worked with Anthony, agrees, pointing out that “whether it’s on stage or in the studio, he brings great energy.” Canadian singer Stacie Tabb, an old friend, explains it: “Rob’s playing is tight, soulful, and full of life. He has that groove that makes people move. It's never just about the notes, it's about the vibe he creates.”

01. SIN CITY ROOTS

Anthony has a rich background in rock, pop, and blues. His sets are marked by emotive vocals and guitar riffs that range from subtle to searing. Audiences feel every ripple.

“Whether we were playing in a packed club or a makeshift stage somewhere unexpected, Rob’s funky sensibilities and extensive repertoire meant we always brought the party.”

No surprise then that he was born and raised in Montreal, a city native son Leonard Cohen thought was “alive with culture, music, and art.” Anthony Bourdain wrote that it was “populated with tough, crazy bastards" and the place in Canada “where the cool kids hang out". It had been an outpost of empire, a prohibition-era distribution point, a den of smugglers. The original Sin City.

In the 1990s it was where Anthony sharpened his musical teeth. To muscle up his passions for sound and technology, he studied music at the McGill Conservatory and learned to code at Concordia University. They were important, but more pitstops than rally points, where he learned what he needed on the way to a whipcrack set of music industry skills.

It was something else that made him: playing the city’s pubs and clubs. That included famed venues Station 10 and Les Foufounes Électriques, where he was surrounded by Bourdain’s cool kids and crazy bastards. One of them was Tabb, who would go on to sing backup with Amanda Marshall, make vocal contributions to (among others) blues rock legend Tony D’s recent release Electric Delta, and record her own work.

They were young musicians and they had to grind. “Rob had this amazing ability to hustle gigs in the most random places,” she recalls. “Whether we were playing in a packed club or a makeshift stage somewhere unexpected, Rob’s funky sensibilities and extensive repertoire meant we always brought the party.”

02. HAVE GUITAR, WILL TRAVEL

Montreal’s cosmopolitan atmospherics whetted Anthony’s appetite for new sounds and spaces.

“I was blown away by how funky he played… I told him, ‘one day, we’ll play together’.”

He spent a year in Vancouver, and in 2006 he moved to Toronto. Moussa first saw him there, performing in a small pub in 2010. “I was blown away by how funky he played… I told him, ‘one day, we’ll play together’.”

Anthony began exploring the international scene, playing in-house club and hotel gigs in the UAE, Oman, and China. As if that wasn’t enough, the open seas beckoned. Cruise ship gigs meant steady work, travel, and adventure.

Professional bassist Warren Freeman played with Anthony in Toronto and joined him under the skull and crossbones. For Freeman, “Those overseas showband contracts we did together were nothing short of amazing.”