Face Music Mela 2017 concludes
The three-day event, held in the capital city this past weekend, featured the best of Pakistani music.
The Face Music Mela, organized by Foundation for Arts, Culture and Education (FACE), which is spearheaded by Zeejah Fazli, in association with the US Embassy in Islamabad, is an annual gathering in the capital city where musicians from all over the country come together and participate in performances, talks, workshops and much more.
Having being postponed in March (in the aftermath of a series of terror attack that left the country reeling), the three-day musical extravaganza finally popped up this past weekend and went off amidst fanfare.
It counted in attendance pop superheroes, indie acts and eastern/folk giants as well as dozens of fans who cheered on the music and the people who create it.
Held at Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad, the three-day event was a great showcase of musical diversity as artists as eclectic as Mai Dhai, Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi, Call (the band), Sibti & the Retrosexual, Azal, Uzair Jaswal, Sain Tanveer, Sikandar Ka Mandar, The Surge, Pluto Republic (with Haroon Rashid), Sattar Jogi, Iqbal Baloch, Bulbulik (and many more) took the stage and showcased their various musical styles. The 2017 edition also saw an intriguing, one-off live collaboration that included DJ Awan playing EDM and being joined by the likes of Ali Noor, Zeejah and Qawalistan.
Aside from live music, it also featured a litany of sessions that were designed to educate and entertain. These included musical theatre by Imran Nafees and Aizaz Sohail, a dance workshop by Amna Mawaz, a panel discussion on the future of the music industry with the likes of Ali Noor and Haroon, a workshop on the history of qawwali by Aziz Mian Qawwal and a drum clinic/drum circle session by Allan Smith.
FACE, the organization that backs this initiative states in its mission statement that their ultimate purpose is “to strengthen, empower & educate people through arts and cultural interactions” in a bid to “ensure sustainable and peaceful communities” and it looks like they are heading in the right direction. By giving artists from multiple genres a space to showcase their talent, the fourth edition of the FACE Music Mela 2017 has certainly created a cache of goodwill that can’t be deleted. Here’s hoping the next edition will be bigger and better.
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