ISLAMABAD: A three day music festival at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) culminated in a performance by international and national stars, folk musicians and classical singers on Sunday.

The festival, ‘Music Mela 2016’ was organised by the United States embassy and the Foundation for Arts, Culture and Education (Face).

On the last day of the festival, American sitar player Amie Maciszewski stole the show with her performance, which included renditions of Rajasthani and Punjabi folk music. Ms Maciszewski also sand in Punjabi. Her performance was accompanied by Riaz Ahmed on the tabla.

Members of the audience said it was challenging to create a balance between the table and the sitar, saying: “The performance showed that music is without borders – they did not know each other’s language but played tunes meant for everyone,” festival goer Fiza Khan said.

Lahore-based band Xarb followed Ms Maciszewski, and enthralled the audience with their performance. However, there was a problem with the electricity, which went out for 10 minutes, during which the band kept the audience entertained with a drum solo.

Xarb followed up the 10 minute delay with a rendition of Ali Da Malang Ali Da, and received thunderous applause.

Other performers at the festival included Noori, Rizwan Muazzam Qawal, Javed Bashir, Arieb Azhar, Zoe Viccaji and Qawalistan with Imran Aziz Mian and Ali Sethi.

At the end of the show, all the performers received a standing ovation. Commenting on this year’s line-up, Face creative director Arieb Azhar said: “This was Music Mela’s third year and it could not have been better. We’ve been so lucky to have an amazing group of talented Pakistani and international musicians this year with genres ranging from folk, to rock, to pop.”

In addition to the performances, artist-led workshops also continued at the sidelines of the festival, for established and amateur musicians. Grupo Fantasma, Ms Maciszewski and other musicians also participated in a panel discussion on music and globalisation.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2016