Dhaka Retro: A melodious night with good old vibes fascinates music lovers

Delivering a throwback to the golden days of band music in Bangladesh, the concert Dhaka Retro was held at Senaprangan in the capital’s Mirpur on Friday night, at a time when the country’s concert scene is booming but suffering simultaneously for several reasons.

Several popular bands and solo artistes performed in the concert, organised by Blue Brick Communications, mesmerising music lovers of all ages from the afternoon till midnight.

The concert began with the energetic solo performance of Drockstar Shuvo, who geared up the audience for the rest of the night with his presentations including “Ei Shohor.”

Bappa Mazumder-led Dalcchut then took the stage and enthralled fans with their majestic performance of the tracks “Teer Hara Ei Dhew er Shagor,” “Surjosnaney Chol,” “Pori,” “Baazi,” and two heart-touching tribute songs – “Ami Tomakei Bole Dibo” for the late singer-songwriter and writer and Dalcchut co-founder Sanjeeb Choudhury, and “Gaari Chole Na” - a tribute to the folk legend Baul Shah Abdul Karim.

The next in line was Oni Hasan, the former Warfaze guitarist and one of the most popular Bangladeshi guitarists in recent times who delivered a magnificent performance with his guitar for several tracks. He paired up with Powersurge vocalist Jamshed Chowdhury and Indalo frontman Jon Kabir.

As the night promised to be a tribute night in many ways, Jon continued with an electrifying tribute to the late rock legend Ayub Bachchu with his massively popular song “Hashte Dekho Gaite Dekho,” followed by Oni’s solo guitar performance with a majestic crowd sing-along of the popular Warfaze song “Purnota.”

ARK then took the stage, and before delivering a nostalgic performance to the crowd, the band’s popular frontman Hasan lauded the concert organisers, saying “Given the present state of the nation when concerts are frequently facing challenges, this concert is extremely meaningful to us today. The reason this concert is so lovely is due to the expertise of the organizers and the audience like you.”

The band performed their iconic tracks one after another including “Sweety,” “Ekaki,” “Eto Koshto Keno Bhalobashay,” “Jaarey Jaa Urey Jaa,” and “Proshno.”

Miles, one of the most popular and longest-standing Bangladeshi bands, began its performance with the track “Jala Jala,” which was followed by the band’s popular songs “Pahari Meye,” “Neela,” “Chaad Tara Surjo,” “Dhiki Dhiki” and concluded with the song “Firiye Dao.”

The night’s major attraction and showstopper James graced the stage at 11:00pm with his Nagar Baul band, starting his majestically electrifying performance with the song “Kobita” - followed by his iconic tracks one after another – “Dewaana Dewaana,” “Guru Ghor Banaila Ki Diya,” “Maa,” “Dushtu Chheler Dol,” “Sultana Bibiyana,” “Ami Taray Taray Rotiye Debo,” “Pagla Hawar Torey,” and concluded with his iconic Bollywood track “Bheegi Bheegi.”