Condon named the band after Lebanon's capital, because of the city's history of conflict and as a place where cultures collide. Beirut performed in Lebanon for the first time in 2014, at the Byblos International Festival.
Zach Condon was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 13, 1986. He grew up in Newport News, Virginia and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Condon played trumpet in a jazz band as a teenager and cites jazz as a major influence.
Condon attended Santa Fe High School, until dropping out when he was 17. Work at a cinema showing international films piqued his interest in Fellini arias, Sicilian funeral brass, and Balkan music.

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