PESHAWAR: Folk artists and musicians claimed to have regained the space through live music which they thought had been lost to social media and modern hi-tech digital gadgets.

Worldwide return to organic music fast reclaiming space and live performances transformed audiences to experience old tunes and rhythms drenched in feelings and emotions coming out direct from the throbbing hearts.

Over 40 young folk artists gained widespread fame in the recent months that captivated audience through live performance, said a thesis report shared with dawn.

Ali Musif Khan, a student doing an assignment on evolving organic Pashto music from a private university for BS, revealed that 45 young male and female folk singers shot to widespread popularity owing to the art of live singing accompanied traditional musical instruments.

The research student added that reemergence of organic Pashto music would revitalise traditional musical orchestra despite electronic appliances and modern digital devices.

Experts are of the view general masses are fast shifting to organic music while others say music like many other fields is passing through a transition period as Artificial Intelligence (AI) is yet to take over music industry in our country.

However, most folk singers are confident to reclaim the lost space during the recent wedding season across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as music-buffs fast turned to live organic music, a large number of budding folk artists staged a comeback alongside their young wards.

Dr Rashid Ahmad Khan, chief of Hunari Welfare Society, told Dawn Pashto folk music and artists at large had suffered a lot owing to numerous factors including social media onslaught during the last several decades but it couldn’t dent its spirit.

He added folk artists of all languages across KP regained their space during 2025 and at the arrival of 2026 as masses wanted organic music with original poetry and live performance.

Folk music and poetry had the strength to survive every digital transformation as it enjoyed a direct impact on the minds and hearts, it would never fade away, he observed.

Folk singers most in the third and even in the fourth generation grabbed the live music scene as the music – buffs developed a taste for organic music and poetry, while wide spaces in the shape of wedding halls also proved a launching pad for most rising folk singers. A new competition among masses for inviting folk artists for live performance has also came to the forth, especially in the wedding seasons and other social gatherings.

Rising Pashto live music stars- Arman Khan and Hamza khan, sons of senior folk singers Sarfaraz and Wisal Khayal in the third generation are carrying forward the legacy of the organic Pashto music.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2026