Lahore Music Meet: A Delightful Treat for Music Lovers

This weekend, Lahore witnessed the fourth edition of Lahore Music Meet at Alhamra Art Center. The two-day-event was dedicated to the celebration of Pakistani music through concerts, conversations and multiple workshops. The festival brings together renowned and aspiring musicians, producers, artists and music enthusiasts to interact, develop and enjoy the culture under one roof. Attracting over 20,000 people, the event was surely one successful one!

The grand event was open to the general public with no cost of admission and also featured live outdoor music performances by various artists from across the country such as Mauj, Roots, Wisdom Salad, Zohaib Bilal, Alien Panda Jury, Sameen Qasim & Co, Sunny Khan Durrani, Bayaan, Sami Amiri, Fazal Jatt, Bushra Marvi, Shorbanoor and Kashmir.

The first day witnessed the Battle Of The Bands (BOB) Instrument Showcase. Pepsi exhibited some of the iconic instruments from the show, belonging to musicians from the top four bands. Alongside, some extraordinary stories behind bands and their music was brought to life via those instruments. Visitors could view the instruments and hear those stories; learning from the best. The display instruments included Kashmir’s acoustic guitar, Ahmed Jillani’s fender guitar, Daud Ramay’s cymbal and Jasim Haider’s harmonica.

Followed by the Guitar Hunt; to make the best use of all the activities taking place at the event, Pepsi held a unique scavenger hunt that allowed consumers to take in the complete experience. Consumers had a shot at winning their own guitar through lucky draw, by taking pictures/videos. Some of the moments to be captured included a selfie with a BOB band, a picture in a picture in the Pepsi Hall, a picture with a Pepi bottle or a boomerang of any performance.

Conclusively, the event also provided a great opportunity for the bands to meet their fans, take selfies and ask whatever they wanted! Now doesn't that sound like fun! On day 1, Badnaam, Jasim Haider, Roots, Madlock and Aura met their fans, while on day 2, Kashmir interacted with their fans at the event.

Day two began with Kashmir. Kashmir had a one-hour interactive talk with the music enthusiasts , where they talked about their journey as a band before and beyond Pepsi Battle of the Bands. The band shared their experiences, their views on music, and how they feel the industry will progress.

The inspirational talk followed a live performance where Kashmir created absolute magic on stage, by playing out to a full house at the Alhamra grounds. The band played some of their most iconic songs from the show including Kaghaz ka jahaz, faislay, Buddha Baba and Parwana while audiences sang and cheered along. Some of the most magical moments was when Bilal asked fans to use their phone’s torchlights and sing along to Faislay, and when the band threw their exclusive merchandise amongst their excited fans.

Lahore Music Meet is a great initiative as it brings together everything related to music under one platform. It also educates and encourages young talent to grow and learn while attempting to revitalise the reputation and perception of music like it once used to be within the country!