Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

The 33rd Convention of the Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America (FOBANA) was held at Nassau Coliseum, USA, recently. Fuad and Friends (FNF) performed at the event for the first time. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star, Fuad talks about his experience at the event.

Tell us a little about your memories of the FOBANA Convention.

I first participated in the convention in 1989. I was nine at the time. We were a part of a set presented by the Bangladesh Society of New York. My brothers, Rahat and Nicky, and my father, Al Muqtadir, were with me. However, this time, the experience was different, as our band, FNF, performed at the convention for the first time. We were a part of the headlining act.

What was special about the FOBANA Convention this year?

It was historic because Nassau Coliseum has never hosted a Bangladeshi event before, and that too, a two-day programme. The credit for this goes to Drama Circle, headed by Abir Alamgir and Nargis Ahmed, and the title sponsors, Town-MD and Utshob Group. More than 65 organisations from 22 states were a part of this event. Tapan Chowdhury, Riza Parvin, Suvra Dev, Samina Chowdhury, Fahmida Nabi, Baby Nazneen and Miles were among the performers.

How did the audience respond to FNF's performance at the convention?

My brother, Rahat's rendition of Nazrul's Bidrohi, was the only performance that got a standing ovation from the crowd. We also featured Laboni for the first time in an FNF show. Shuvo was brilliant too. We arranged a three-piece brass segment, which was both challenging and exciting for me.

What are some upcoming projects of FNF?

We have a few more shows this year in the USA and Bangladesh. FNF is also working on a project that I cannot talk much about. The audience will have something special from us soon.