Music

As Pakistani rock’n’ roll music begins to heat up, Pakistan’s youth have taken upon themselves to teach and learn to play the guitar in bigger numbers than ever – with a Lahori group of youngsters opening a guitar school. ‘The Guitar School‘, as it is known, has been surprisingly successful. Around 40 students have signed [...]

A Pakistani all-girl pop band – Zeb and Haniya – is creating quite a stir with the Pakistani youth. They recently debuted their first album Chup (“Quiet” in Urdu) much to their delight as it was hailed by all major Pakistani reviewers. Breaking stereotypes, Zeb and Haniya are becoming a living and vivid example of [...]

With his catchy numbers and boyish good looks that make female fans swoon, Roy is the latest musician to try his luck in India from across the salt desert. While Hindi films are only now making their way to theatres in Pakistan, music has always made it’s way across the border to our country. And [...]

About 31 students from various schools, colleges and universities and 23 amateur singers enthralled performed during the session. As per the conference’s 50-year-old tradition, the first session featured students and amateurs. Lahore’s music enthusiasts saw excellent performances by talented amateurs amidst magical lights and the smell of paapars being made on red hot coal, during [...]

Sitar maestro Ustad Rais Khan and his son Farhan presented a duet and left the audience spellbound by their skillful rendition of various ‘ragas’.Ustad Rais Khan delineated the intricacies of Raga Yamini, which was much appreciated. Later, he played the tune ‘Pyar hai apse, zindagi pyar hai’. Ustad Rais Khan also presented the famous Urdu [...]

Adams, who performed most of his hits and moved the audience with “Summer of 69″, said he was glad to discover new fans in Pakistan. Canadian rocker Bryan Adams thrilled 10,000 fans at a concert in Karachi on Sunday, the first big show by a Western singer in Pakistan in decades, to help students affected [...]

Young, old, ladies and gentlemen all remained mesmerized under the spell of the melodies of the musicians and songsters, who kept them enthralled in pin drop silence listening to the heart penetrating ‘Raags’ and warming up ‘Ghazals’ in the chill winter night till wee hours. The rich milieu of artists drawn from all over Pakistan [...]

The day kicks off in the afternoon at the shrine of Data Ganj Baksh Hajveri (Bestower of Treasures), a 11th century Sufi mystic renowned for his concern for the poor, outside the old city. Some of the best quawwali singers from far and near, including the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, turned up to [...]

Among other creative works like Pekhawar Kho Pekhawar Dey Ka Na; Bibi Sherine, etc, reproducing a ghazal of prominent mystic poet Rehman Baba with video shots is another attempt to attract viewers in this modern day communication revolution. With the rising trend of giving new touch and remixing old songs, Ghazals and poems, etc, of [...]

His group was banned from performing in Pakistan from 1996 to 1999 after referring to government corruption in a song and protesting Pakistan’s and India’s nuclear testing. One of Salman Ahmad’s earliest gigs was a talent show at King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan, where he was studying to be a doctor. Moments after [...]