Marking the anniversary of the historic speech by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7, a celebratory rock concert titled “Joy Bangla Concert” was held at the Army Stadium on Monday.
Organised by the Centre for Research and Information (CRI) and its associate Young Bangla, the concert was hosted for second year in a row, staging performances by seven heavy-weight rock bands of the country including Warfaze, Shironamhin, Lalon, Cryptic Fate, Shunno, Nemesis and Arbovirus.
The show began at 5pm as the masters of ceremony Iresh Zaker and Nabila jogged the memory of how the speech given by the Father of the nation on March 7, 1971 motivated the nation towards achieving independence. A group of singers and musicians from Chayanaut opened the show by rendering our National Anthem.
From then on, the bands took the stage and performed their own renditions of patriotic anthems and songs of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, which inspired millions of Bangladeshis during the Liberation War.
Arbovirus was the first band to take the stage. Starting with a rock rendition of “Amra Tomader Bhulbo Na,” the band shifted to a slow and soulful version of “Amra Korbo Joy.” Although a barrier kept the audience distanced from the stage, band members attempting to crowd-surf invigorated fresh vibes amongst the listeners.
Nemesis walked in next, and their entry inspired the entire crowd to cheer them on. “Dhana Dhanya Pushpe Bhara,” a classic by DL Ray, was their first act followed by a vibrant rendition of “Rokto Diye Naam Likhechi.” Nemesis’s performance of popular track “Kobe” came in as an easy addition to the list of what may be considered the night’s most audience-engaging act.
Shunno’s following performance kept the crowd well entertained. Starting with their most popular song “Shoto aasha,” the band made the crowd shiver in enthusiasm with their intense rendition of “Joy Bangla Bangla-r joy” afterwards.
Theatre troupe Prachyanaut systematically depicted a handful of key national events which took place between 1947 to March 7, 1971. Moments later, a coloured version of the speech was presented for the first time before the 30,000 that gathered at the stadium. Grandsons of the historic speaker, Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Radwan Siddiq Bobby, were amongst the audience witnessing the event.
Cryptic Fate’s consistent enthusiasm and charisma ensured the absence of torpor in the crowd from the serious material that followed, namely Nazrulgeeti “Karar Oi Louho Kopat” and “Teer Hara Ei Dheuer Sagor.”
Shironamhin took the stage by storm but kept a peaceful tone with their sublime executive of the Tagore song “O Amar Desher Mati.” The indie band, who received immense fame with their variant music in the past decade, kept the people charged up till the end of their performance; in this case, they kept their promise with songs like “Bondho Janala” and “Abar Hashimukh.”
Another attraction of the night was the fusion-rock band Lalon, who performed “Purbo Digonte Surjo Utheche” followed by their hit numbers including “Pagol Chara Dunia Chole Na” and “Shomoy Gele Sadhon Hobe Na.”
The night’s biggest treat, hard-rock Warfaze was reserved till the end of the show. The band may have entered the stage last, but create enough hype to keep the crowd distracted from the lateness of the night.
Throughout the show, laser shows and documentaries highlighted the speech, which after all, was the main concern for us all.
