Daily Times

With the dearth of concerts in Pakistan, and a literal musical drought prevalent in the country, Lahoris were treated to a pleasant yet rocking dose of live music when DJ and musicians Edward Maya and Farhad Humayun performed in Lahore on Thursday.

The concert was held in the outskirts of Paragon City. The concert venue exuberated an aura of exhilaration and anticipation as the eager crowds waited to see their favourite artists perform live in front of them. The waiting stopped when Farhad Humayun of Overload, appeared on the stage. His appearance was met with enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. Humayun, along with DJ Hassan Umar and Salman Albert, proceeded to rock the crowd with their banging music. Farhad’s energetic vocals and pulsing drum beats raged through the concert venue, while DJ Hassan Umar’s electronic beats and Salman Albert’s guitar tones provided a complementary backdrop to his music. The three rocked the audience with insane covers of hits like “Another brick in the wall”, “Eye of the tiger” and “Nairray ah” that came out in a thrilling mesh of rock and electronic music.

The treat wasn’t over. The crowd went wild as Edward Maya made his appearance on the stage and laid down his groovy beats that are massively popular among Pakistani crowds. The rocking energy of the crowd embraced a flashy nature that is suitable to electronic-dance music. Fans screamed and danced as Maya played his famous “This is my Life” and “That’s my name”. Maya’s pumping beats, supplemented by the throbbing lights lining the stage, set everyone in the crowd jumping. Immersed in the smoke on the stage, Edward Maya’s played his jovial beats to satisfy the overzealous music-hungry crowds. Edward left the crowd high on emotions as he ended his sensational playlist. He was besieged by fans who wanted to take a selfie with their favourite star.

Humayun gave a few comments on the event and the general music scene in the country after the concert. He expressed his appreciation at the fact that people had come out in such numbers and said that it was refreshing to see people having a good time when there is a severe lack of live performances in the country. Humayun also lamented the fact that the music scene was dying in the country, reminiscing the time when him and his band used to play at a concert every day. Humayun was of the opinion that due to the current security situation in the country, and a lack of investment into the music industry, the growth of music in the country had come to a halt. He said that the government needs to invest in the promotion of music in the country. He further opined that musicians in Pakistan preferred to perform out of the country due to this failing culture of live music. He said, “Having international artists in the country is great, but we have fantastic musicians in Pakistan, who go out of the country and perform in sold-out arenas.”

All in all, the concert was a breath of fresh air for Lahoris who had been music-starved for a long period of time. Fans seemed content and radiated a joyous energy that was a testament to the fact that they had wholeheartedly enjoyed the event. A fan said, “This event has not only given us a chance to have a good time, but it also gave us an opportunity to send a message to international artists that we are a peace-loving country who love music as much as anyone else.”