‘Cholo Bangladesh Concert’ marks striking impression

Dhaka witnessed a mighty crowd of music lovers this year at yesterday's "Cholo Bangladesh Concert" organised by the telecom giant Grameenphone and AsiaticExp at the Army Stadium. The star-studded line-up consisting of some of the finest musical acts of the country varying across genres, delivered yet another show for audiences to cherish for a long time. 

From Habib Wahid, Pritom Hasan and Black Zang's crème de la crème of contemporary Bangla pop and hip-hop to Cryptic Fate electrifying everyone with the best of Bangla heavy metal – there was a treat for every kind of music lover in the crowd. 

The most special aspect of this show however was the grandeur of collaborative performances that are rarely seen at a live show of this stature. When the crowd was still reminiscing the iconic voice of Hasan from Ark, who delivered a stellar performance as part of a collaborative line-up called "Rafa Featuring Friends", little did they know what was coming later. 

Members from Warfaze, Artcell and Cryptic Fate took to the stage with Bakhtiar Hossain and Sheikh Ishtiaque from Bay of Bengal and Shironamhin as they delivered an enthralling tribute performance in honour of the legendary figures of Bangla pop and rock music movement. 

The mash-up was a riveting rock rendition that consisted of "Bangladesh" by both George Harrison and Azam Khan, followed by "Chol Chol Chol" written by national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, "Maa" written by Prince Mahmud which was popularly sung by James, "Teer Hara Ei Dheuer Shagor" which was popularised during the 1971 war through "Bangladesh Betar", "Hazar Borsha Raat" by Souls who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. 

Right after, the next few minutes were inexplicable for Bangla rock musicians as they welcomed the long-time bandmate of Ayub Bachchu, former guitarist of LRB, Abdullah al Masud to play "Shei Tumi" with them. Visuals of the beloved "Bacchu bhai" appeared on the large screens as the jam-packed venue consisting of concertgoers of different generations, sang along to the top of their broken voices, creating a striking atmosphere.

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The line-up of the concert consisted of Warfaze, Cryptic Fate, Artcell, Nemesis, Habib Wahid, Pritom Hasan, Black Zang, King Forever and appearances from Hasan, Pantha Kanai, Shishir Ahmed, Nadia Dora and Tasnim Anika as part of Rafa and friends.