The performers from home and abroad showed their deep-rooted folk presentation in the Army Stadium where Rajshahi-originated local folk-fusion band Swarobanjo started on the second night of the folk festival.
The folk-fusion band Swarobanjo was formed in 2014 and has shared all of its music under Creative Commons License, non-commercially. Though this band is an open group, they have a stable band lineup. In continuation of that belief, they inaugurated ‘Copyleft Movement’ in Bangladesh.
This band sings about the protest of common people and about their hurdles since their interception. This band has so far published two albums namely ‘Gan-Bajna’ and ‘Haoar Chithi’ released in 2015 and 2016, but these two albums are not available in the market.
Majaz, a band formed in 2013, originally from Bahrain, located in the Arabian Peninsula came to stage after the performance of Swarobanjo.
Bringing out the best vibe to the listeners is the best possible attribute of the progressive fusion band Majaz as they executed the same thing in Dhaka. Initially, the band’s name was ‘Mazaj’, later it was converted to ‘Majaz’ for creative purpose.
The songs of the heritage of Arabian music amazed the audience very much by their soulful creations and their instrumental arrangement.
Lately, they performed in the biggest music festival ‘Spring of Culture’ of Bahrain. The band members are Jehad Al Halal (Cello), Abdulla Faisal (Percussions), Salah Sharakhat (Bass), Hameed Al Saeed (Guitar).
The Raghu Dixit Project from India also performed the mixture of modern and international music with Indian folk music.
This band brought out the rooted and earthy sound of modern India which gave the excitement to the listeners and folk lovers.
Raghupathi Dwarakanath Dixit is a singer, musician, music producer and a famous name among the folk genre of India who formed the group ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’ in 2005.
The world-renowned Glastonbury festival and many more concerts around the world was heated with the beats of The Raghu Dixit Project. They were featured the BBC’s ‘Later with Jules Holland’, Sydney Opera House for their folk songs.
The Raghu Dixit Project made every song vibrant as they believe that no listener should engulf into sadness while listening to songs that is why their every performance creates a feeling of enthusiasm among each and every listener.
The rhythm of Conjunto-based Songs did not disappoint to cheer up the mood of listeners of Dhaka in the jam-packed stadium. The music of this band led the listeners to a joyful ride as they are the masters of Tehano/Tex-Mex.
Los Texmaniacs, 2010 Grammy Award winner on the category of ‘Best Tejano Music’, also performed twice on the festival of ‘Smithsonian Folklife Festival’.
The folk lovers also experienced the Josh Baca’s amazing accordion playing and skill in the fundamental conjunto tradition while the drummer Lorenzo Martínez brought Mexican and Chicano influence in the band.
The queen of folk music in Bangladesh Momtaz Begum placed a powerful performance in front of people and was successfully able to satisfy the listeners.
Momtaz Begum, the jewel of Bangladeshi folk music, also served as the Member of Parliament in Bangladesh. She took music lessons from an early age from her father Modhu Boyati. Later, she became the protégé of Matal Kobi Razzak Dewan and Abdur Rashid Sarkar.
The audience was crazy over on the occasion for her performances which celebrates the rich culture of Bangla folk music. She has been appreciated for her performances in UK, USA, and many more.