KARACHI: In terms of audience participation, arguably, the Arts Council’s Pakistan Music Festival, which concluded on Sunday night, after a three-day run was the biggest event that has taken place in the cultural landscape of Karachi in recent times.

Thousands of music lovers, especially on Sunday, packed all of the council’s open air spaces and thousands struggled their way in from outside the main gate to the venue, causing long traffic jams. There was a reason for all of that: the music was right out of the top drawer.

Day two (Saturday) of the event, as is common practice, began with the performance of a younger bunch of artists namely Kamran Jafri, Muneeb, M Zubair (who showed superb voice control when he sang the Tufail Niazi song ‘Main nahi jana kheryan de naal’), Shahzeb Ali, Imran Javed, Aziz Warsi, Saghir Ahmed, Akhlaq Bashir and Intizar Hussain. The last five paid tribute to the legendary Mehdi Hasan by singing his ghazals and geet. It was followed by a tribute to Nayyara Noor.

The concert shifted gear with a remarkable display of musical talent by the renowned keyboardist Emu (of Fuzon fame), who appeared on stage with the council’s band, led by Ahsan Bari. It was Emu’s first appearance in front of a live audience after nearly three years. They played the famous Khamaj and the solo bits by Emu and guitar player Afaq Adnan were just brilliant. It enlivened the attendees who sang the lyrics to the song with the vocalists. The keyboardist and the guitarist then presented an instrumental, which was an auditory treat.

Next up was the great Mai Dhai, followed by the Ukrainian singer Kamaliya who won many a heart with her passionate singing, including by presenting a couple of Nazia Hasan numbers. Ahmed Jahanzeb, too, rocked the arena.

Day three (Sunday) had a distinct flavour because it got things going with classical singing by Izzat Ali Khan, Faheem Mazhar (a master vocalist), Mazhar Umrao Bundo Khan (whose performance was all heart and one hopes it was recorded) and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan.

From classical, the mood shifted to folk and the audience got to listen to Sidra Kanwal (Gilgiti), Bano Rehmat (Kashmiri) and Chakwal Band (Punjabi).

Variety is the spice of life, so after folk the council’s Ahsan Bari had his brief stint on stage with a nice fusion piece accompanied by the talented vocalist Akbar Ali.

Auj the band is extremely popular with the younger crowd, and it’s understandable. Their compositions are infused with quality singing, lovely guitar riffs and impressive rhythmic progressions. Apart from their own tracks, including the well-known Raat, they also played a cover tune — Strings’ ‘Koi aaney wala hai’.

The Sketches were good, too, and their singer Saif Samejo engaged the audience with his performance.

The final act of the festival was Ataullah Esakhelvi. As expected, the audience was thrilled to see and hear him. He did not disappoint them. He sang some of the songs that have earned him global recognition such as ‘Qameez teri kaali’and ‘Idhar zindagi ka janaza’.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2022